Reviews

Forty-Three Septembers: Essays by Jewelle Gomez

joyful24's review

4.0

i became familiar with jewelle gomez as i sat in an auditorium watching a panel discuss octavia butler and afrofuturism at spelman college. she was rather unassuming and self assured as she fielded questions. there was an incident she told us about. she spoke softly she retold her response to a criticism about her choice to write about lesbian social activist vampire. she simply stated, "you have to trust that i know what i am doing. i can create a new mythology. one that is reflected of my own experience." at that moment i asked myself what made this woman tick. what events transpired in her life to have the courage to say, believe, and execute her fiction? lo and behold in forty-three septembers gomez chronicles the very things, people, and experiences that lead to sitting on that panel being as accomplished and honest as anyone i have ever met. to read these essays is to meet jewelle gomez. welcome her into your life. embrace the idea. a person only has so many septembers in a lifetime. learn what she did with a few of hers and decide what to do with the rest of yours.

(and revisit the color purple. because september was important to shug avery too)