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As she puts it in her own words, bell hooks describes the concept of her poetry book, A Woman’s Mourning Song, as a fight to hold onto a loved one’s memory despite the fact that death is final and an inevitable fact of loss. It’s a written refusal to let death erase memories, even though time tatters away and makes the edges and details of moments fuzzy as they move into the distance. hooks is no stranger to the realities of life; she’s written more than 20 books, a prolific energy focused into pen and paper about her views on life, love, liberty and her own definition of a woman’s happiness.
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For those interested in black womanhood, Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism by bell hooks, published in 1981, should be on your must-read list. It evaluates and examines all aspects of black womanhood, including slavery, involvement in feminism, racism against black woman as well as strong black feminists, black male sexism, the devaluation of black woman and more. This book tries to move past racist and sexist assumptions and, through her groundbreaking writing and insightful viewpoints, hooks creates a book that should be on the bookshelf of every woman feminist scholar.
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Author bell hooks gives us a non-academic, though personally profound, look into this universal and ageless question in her book,'‘ All About Love: New Visions'’ One can assimilatehooks'’ analysis of love to Scott M.Peck's view of life from Road Less Traveled'': "Life is difficult" as Peck says… once one accepts that life is, in fact, complex, it's easier to accept the natural course of life. Venture with hooks into her perspective on love in her value-filled chapters about what love is. This non-academic, though intellectually written book will allow you to consider your thoughts and views on love while giving you cultural awareness of what society allows us to accept and what we are taught to believe love is.
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Gloria Jean Watkins, known as bell hooks, was born in 1952 and is an American author, activist, and feminist of great renown. This book addresses race, capitalism, sexuality, history, art, education, and gender just as her previous works have. hooks has been a teacher, scholar, the subject of documentary films, and public lecturer. Appalachian Elegy: Poetry and Place is a book of hooks’ poetry focused on her return to Kentucky (her birthplace) and the meaning of life, grief, and ultimately love during her upbringing there. hooks addresses her heritage and the influence of white supremacist violence, as well as similar land loss issues faced by both black and american indian people pushed off by white settlers.
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With her easy to decode yet provocative style of writing, Hook uses this book to answer the ongoing conversations that revolve around the production, exhibition and critic of art. She brings up the question of why art has not had a very big impact on the lives of most African Americans. This book is passionate and very personal. She talks about her own experience involving betrayal by a friend who is also an artist. She is disappointed by the lack of black critics and uses the works of the late Jean-Michel Basquiat to analyze the effect of historical photography on African Americans. It is a necessary need because there is a need to point out the insufficient representation of African American artists.
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What does it mean to be a boy? Can we perfectly capture the essence and energy of young manhood? How do we celebrate all things boy? Exuberantly capturing “all things boy”, comes Be Boy Buzz from famed author bell hooks. Her bold, poetic writing plunges into the essence and energy of what it means to be a boy - particularly an African-American boy. Soulful illustrations from Chris Raschka perfectly complement hooks’ trademarked brevity and eloquence. Leaving readers irresistibly captivated by the delights and contradictions of young manhood, this rhythmic, life affirming book is a must read for anyone yearning to celebrate what it means to be a boy.
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A home is somewhere that we feel safe and wanted. It is a place that calls us when we feel weary from our daily struggles. However, does every person out there share this value of what home is supposed to mean? How does this person feel like they truly belong in their community? hooks addresses these fundamental questions in her new book Belonging: A Culture of Place by sharing her personal stories with the reader. It tells her tale of constant travel, meeting new people, and coming back to her origin in Kentucky. She addresses race, gender, and class in Belonging that takes the reader to another world they may not find in theirs. It is a thought-provoking story that anyone can find a relation to that ultimately leads us back to where we all began: our own home.
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Black Looks: Race and Representation is a collection of twelve essays by bell hooks. Through her incisive mind and razor-sharp pen, bell hooks digs deeper into the personal and political repercussions of contemporary representations of ethnicity and race within the culture of white supremacy. The feminist icon examines the experience of African Americans on sensitive topics like black femininity and the commodification of the black culture and history as displayed in fashion, popular culture, literature, and much more. bell hooks focuses on spectatorship while drawing on her personal experience in formulating new ways to look at blackness, whiteness, and black subjectivity.
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In Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood, hooks shares her pain and dreams. We see her strength and can foretell her survival. Many people, not only African American women can relate to her journey which is nothing short of inspirational. The issues she faces growing up are real problems that many people go through. This is an intelligent read that anyone can connect and associate with themselves.
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This extraordinary writer discusses how modern society impacts aspects of love. hooks sets the stage with frank personal anecdotes, seasoned with her keen psychological and philosophical interpretations. She focuses in on romantic love, dissecting this source of longing and coming to the conclusion that, in American culture, men are socialized to mistrust women. She discusses the unfortunate consequence, which is the loss of love and meaningful relationships in the U.S. Each chapter features a different aspect of love. hooks lays out her position and shows the reader external work on each element of love. Then she gives a roadmap of suggestions to reverse the dire effects of cultural training so that the reader can become better at giving and receiving love. The aspects covered include respect, affection, trust, recognition, care, commitment, and open communication. The idea is to overcome a viewpoint of domination, gender stereotypes, ego, control, and aggression.
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Intimacy and the notion of love are discovered in bell hooks’ third sequel in her love series. “Communion: The Female Search for Love” challenges everything that we thought we knew about feminism. Have women indeed championed all things concerning equally? Are they really on the road to total wellness, or are we all just living in the delusion of gender equality being on the horizon? bell hooks has answers to some of the most challenging questions. According to the author, a woman’s search for love, not equality, is at the helm of all things. Freedom only comes when she realizes her value and appreciates herself instead of waiting for substantiation from a man. hooks commands the attention of readers with language that forces them to consider their ideologies in comparison with what is presented in the book. “Communion” is not a book for those who are unwilling to evolve. It is, however, the ideal choice for women who have always silently wondered why intimacy and true fulfillment appear to be more fantasies than realities.
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bell hooks establishes what feminism is truly about through Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics. The book analytically explores feminism from an intelligent perspective, shining light on the successes and shortcomings of the feminist movement. Removing the strong sexual appetite from the topic of love, the author explores ways to end oppression and sexism. Consider the book a simple guide to understanding feminism.
