InSpiritry

“I suddenly wanted something to read about women,

but I couldn’t find anything.”

Poet Judy Grahn

Sanctuary 

In Austin, Texas, on the corner of 12th and Lamar, there is a small shop that, for years, has been one of the sanctuary places in my life. Its bright storefront display promotes a wide variety of items:  feminist biographies, environmental photojournalism, insightful children’s books, progressive political commentary and gifts promoting peace. Entering customers, especially women, are welcomed home. Behind the counter sits owner, Susan Post, an unassuming woman with eyes as soft as her voice. When asked, she will speak of her unwavering dedication to feminism and her heart for writers. The shop I speak of is Book-woman, one of only a handful of independent feminist bookstores in the country and the only one in Texas.  A store devoted to improving women’s lives–what better way to live out a Passion for the Greater Good? (more…)

Last month, while attending the International Women’s Peace Conference in Dallas, I was reminded of the plight of women around the world. Inspired to be more proactive, I returned home to find an opportunity to do that. The Feminist Majority Foundation, a group I link to at my website, www.InSpiritry.com, was requesting for emails to be sent to the Iranian government regarding an imprisoned Iranian-American scholar, Dr. Haleh Esfandiari. It told how Dr. Esfandiari had traveled from the United States to visit her elderly mother and, while in Iran, was abducted and imprisoned. That evening I saw an Iranian propaganda videotape of the scholar as well as a public television interview with her husband and daughter begging for her release, claiming she had lost weight and seemed dejected. I was compelled to take action. Immediately, I sent an impassioned email to Iranian officials as requested.

That was a month ago. (more…)

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Some time ago I was at a writers’ workshop at the Poetry at Roundtop festival near Austin, Texas. The instructor, Texas Poet Laureate Jack Myers had asked us to bring a photograph of ourselves as a child, and I was intrigued about what we were going to discuss. The photo I chose was one of me at age thirteen standing with my parents near an American flag hung in our yard on the Fourth of July. (more…)