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Out of the Rough Novello Festival Press This memorable collection of writings celebrates the survival and perseverance of women. The project was born in a poetry workshop at a church in Charlotte where, at the urging of her minister, Dorothy Perry Thompson began teaching the art of poetry to a group of women moving from welfare to self-sufficiency. Many were still searching for work and struggling to raise small children on their own, but Dr. Thompson was moved by the power of the women’s writings, and by the universal themes that every poem seemed to evoke. She gathered those poems together in a book, and surrounded them with work by some of the most respected poets of our time. Susan B. Ludvigson, Eugene B. Redmond, Gloria Wade Gayles and Dr. Thompson herself join more than 35 others in lifting their voices, sometimes dark, sometimes triumphant, but always strong. Out of the Rough cuts across racial and economic lines to explore the issues that many women face, and to celebrate their spirit and will to survive. Contributors to Out of the Rough:
Reviews “This collection of poems seems most suited for an urban female audience. Written by members of a community project for women and supplemented by the poetry of established writers in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area, these poems sing of the recovery and survival of women, often minorities, in a celebration of the generational traditions and timelessness of womanhood. They are well written, varied and augmented by appealing and appropriate line sketches to make an interesting volume. Perhaps ‘Legacy’ best sums up the universal role of women as portrayed in these works: ‘We have labored to bear the children of all men / and felt the caress of all lovers / down the length of our bodies./ We have watched our sons / go off to war / and given our daughters' lives to others. / We know well our primitive powers. . . .’ This familiar stamina is traced through generations and heritage and is also seen in other works where it outlasts abuse, illness, romance and barrenness. More than simple survival, however, in the end these works glorify the triumph over these tribulations. ‘In the mean time, I am not dieting, / not saving time, not sparing any expense / that seems to promise smiling or excitement. / In the mean time I am calling long-distance / and drinking wine and making love and listening to brass bands. . . .’ This collection is filled with a rare combination of strength and joy, an endowment from these artists and women, a celebration of the world and all that is in it.” |
