Review by Dang3rk1ds -- DeFacto Feminism: Essays Straigh...
Posted: 03 Jan 2019, 15:46
[Following is a volunteer review of "DeFacto Feminism: Essays Straight Outta Oakland" by Judy Juanita.]
4 out of 4 stars
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<r>De Facto Feminism: Essays Straight Outta Oakland by Judy Juanita was so fascinating to me that I couldn’t put it down. Not even once did I put my iPad away, that’s how drawn into it I was. It was fascinating because I learned so much about African American culture while also reading about her life in the same book. It was a memoir of sorts and also a history lesson. Two things I absolutely love. <br/>
<br/>
The best way I can summarize is it as follows: De Facto Feminism is a collection of essays and poems by an African American feminist using the pen name Judy Juanita. It covers everything from sexuality, women’s rights, the Black Lives Matter movement, her time at Berkeley as a Black Panther (which I think was the most interesting to me, if I’m being honest), racism, and mental illness. She has her own style as a writer and doesn’t follow the “rules” of writing. That’s the best kind of writing there is in my opinion—who needs rules? Creative writing doesn’t need to follow rules. <br/>
<br/>
While the entire book was fascinating to me, there is one passage that stuck out to me. I read it a couple times over and I thought it was worth sharing. I don’t know how to explain why it stuck out to me. It just did and I loved it. It made me smile and I found it relatable in a way that I can’t quite put my finger on.<br/>
<br/>
<QUOTE><s><br/>
</s>I realize that I’m not going to inject funny into my novel, any more than I can make shrimp scampi my favorite dish; my romance with comedy ends and I return to editing the manuscript. The writing becomes tighter and, in some way, laced with a deeper irony. <e><br/>
</e></QUOTE><br/>
<br/>
I’ve never been too big on books in the form of essays, because I always viewed them like assignments in school. Most of them were riddled with information and citations and were overall dull. They had no power, they didn’t give me a reason to keep reading. But De Facto Feminism isn’t just essays. Yes it has poems too, but essays aren’t typically emotionally driven like hers were. I could tell from the very beginning that she put her heart and soul into the pages, and as a fellow writer, I understood it. As a self-professed human rights activist and mostly unapologetic feminist, I devoured what she had to say.<br/>
<br/>
I truly think that Judy Juanita is a fascinating writer. I don’t think my review does her enough justice. My favorite essay was by far the one about Trayvon Martin, who lived less than an hour away from me so I was familiar with his story. If there was anything that I could say was my number one favorite, it was that one. I could feel how passionate she was about racial discrimination, police brutality and about his case in particular. She, like most authors, is a passionate person and I could tell from the very beginning of the book. Passion and pain make for beautiful writing. She’s unapologetic and she’s brutally honest. Those traits matter, and writers with those traits are the kind we need in the world.<br/>
<br/>
I think that anyone who is interested in learning about culture and racial equality should read this book. Feminists of all sorts would enjoy it too. It illustrates how unfair and cruel the world can be and that while we’ve made strides to combat racism and attempt to create equality, we’ve still got work to do. <br/>
<br/>
If I disliked anything, it was the amount of pages that her email inclusions were. I think they could have been shortened and summarized better. I understand why they were important, but I lost interest during the email sections. That doesn’t affect my overall rating of the book much, however. <B><s></s>I give it a 4 out of 4 stars.<e></e></B> I will definitely be recommending this to friends in the future. <E>:D</E> <E>:techie-reference:</E></r>
******
DeFacto Feminism: Essays Straight Outta Oakland
View: on Bookshelves
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4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
<r>De Facto Feminism: Essays Straight Outta Oakland by Judy Juanita was so fascinating to me that I couldn’t put it down. Not even once did I put my iPad away, that’s how drawn into it I was. It was fascinating because I learned so much about African American culture while also reading about her life in the same book. It was a memoir of sorts and also a history lesson. Two things I absolutely love. <br/>
<br/>
The best way I can summarize is it as follows: De Facto Feminism is a collection of essays and poems by an African American feminist using the pen name Judy Juanita. It covers everything from sexuality, women’s rights, the Black Lives Matter movement, her time at Berkeley as a Black Panther (which I think was the most interesting to me, if I’m being honest), racism, and mental illness. She has her own style as a writer and doesn’t follow the “rules” of writing. That’s the best kind of writing there is in my opinion—who needs rules? Creative writing doesn’t need to follow rules. <br/>
<br/>
While the entire book was fascinating to me, there is one passage that stuck out to me. I read it a couple times over and I thought it was worth sharing. I don’t know how to explain why it stuck out to me. It just did and I loved it. It made me smile and I found it relatable in a way that I can’t quite put my finger on.<br/>
<br/>
<QUOTE><s><br/>
</s>I realize that I’m not going to inject funny into my novel, any more than I can make shrimp scampi my favorite dish; my romance with comedy ends and I return to editing the manuscript. The writing becomes tighter and, in some way, laced with a deeper irony. <e><br/>
</e></QUOTE><br/>
<br/>
I’ve never been too big on books in the form of essays, because I always viewed them like assignments in school. Most of them were riddled with information and citations and were overall dull. They had no power, they didn’t give me a reason to keep reading. But De Facto Feminism isn’t just essays. Yes it has poems too, but essays aren’t typically emotionally driven like hers were. I could tell from the very beginning that she put her heart and soul into the pages, and as a fellow writer, I understood it. As a self-professed human rights activist and mostly unapologetic feminist, I devoured what she had to say.<br/>
<br/>
I truly think that Judy Juanita is a fascinating writer. I don’t think my review does her enough justice. My favorite essay was by far the one about Trayvon Martin, who lived less than an hour away from me so I was familiar with his story. If there was anything that I could say was my number one favorite, it was that one. I could feel how passionate she was about racial discrimination, police brutality and about his case in particular. She, like most authors, is a passionate person and I could tell from the very beginning of the book. Passion and pain make for beautiful writing. She’s unapologetic and she’s brutally honest. Those traits matter, and writers with those traits are the kind we need in the world.<br/>
<br/>
I think that anyone who is interested in learning about culture and racial equality should read this book. Feminists of all sorts would enjoy it too. It illustrates how unfair and cruel the world can be and that while we’ve made strides to combat racism and attempt to create equality, we’ve still got work to do. <br/>
<br/>
If I disliked anything, it was the amount of pages that her email inclusions were. I think they could have been shortened and summarized better. I understand why they were important, but I lost interest during the email sections. That doesn’t affect my overall rating of the book much, however. <B><s></s>I give it a 4 out of 4 stars.<e></e></B> I will definitely be recommending this to friends in the future. <E>:D</E> <E>:techie-reference:</E></r>
******
DeFacto Feminism: Essays Straight Outta Oakland
View: on Bookshelves
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