Susan Hawthorne Books

This collection of eco-poetry vividly captures the impact of extreme weather events like cyclones and hurricanes. It delves into the emotional landscape before, during, and after such disasters, portraying the physical destruction alongside the psychological trauma experienced by survivors. The poems reflect on the profound relationship between humanity and nature, emphasizing both the ferocity of natural forces and the enduring emotional scars they leave behind.

Exploring the profound impact of identity and love, this poetry collection intertwines historical and contemporary themes, from ancient Sapphic relationships to modern global politics. The verses evoke vivid imagery and complex emotions, capturing the vibrant essence of the word "lesbian" and its far-reaching consequences. Through rich symbolism and metaphor, the poems create layers of meaning, reflecting on friendship, betrayal, and mortality, while celebrating the transformative power of love across time and space.

In this enlightening yet devastating book, Susan Hawthorne writes with clarity and incisiveness on how patriarchy is wreaking destruction on the planet and on communities. The twin mantras of globalisation and growth expounded by the neoliberalism that has hijacked the planet are revealed in all their shabby deception. Backed by meticulous research, the author shows how so-called advances in technology are, like a Trojan horse, used to mask sinister political agendas that sacrifice the common good for the shallow profiteering of corporations and mega-rich individuals. She details how women, lesbians, people with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, the poor, refugees, and the very earth itself are being damaged by the crisis of patriarchy that is sucking everyone into its vortex. Importantly, this precise and insightful volume also shows what is needed to get ourselves out of this spiral of destruction: a radical feminist approach with compassion and empathy at its core. The book shows a way out of the vortex: it is now up to the collective imagination and action of people everywhere to take up the challenges. This is a vital book for a world in crisis and should be read by everyone.

Muses have been sacked' their role in the pantheon, sold up for some new, real estate venture. When the Muses are sacked, what are we to do? The Muses who inspire poetry, astronomy, history and daily living bring their song and dance into present-day political struggles. These Muses are for rebellion.Susan Hawthornes poems span millennia of resistance by women. The earth itself is implicated. She writes about womens bodies, how they are used, abused and celebrated in birthing, in sexual pleasure, in grief, in imagining. She draws on stories from ancient and contemporary India, from Greece and Rome, through language, storytelling and translation. we embrace our double lives, like actors and their alter egos, some say śleṣa is unnatural, Ive heard the same said about us

In Defence of Separatism is a timely book. When it was first written in 1976, although it was an important subject of conversation among many feminists, it was not welcomed by academics or publishers. When a political group wants to strategise with one another so that its members can arrive at agreed-on political tactics and ideas, they call for, and create, separate spaces. These might be in coffee shops, in community centres, in one anothers homes or in semi-public spacessuch as workers clubs, even cinemas. When the proletariat was rebelling, they did not ask the capitalists and aristocracy to join them ... when the civil rights movement started it was not thanks to the ideas and politics of white people ... when the womens liberation movement sprang into life, it was women joining together to fight against their oppression. The difference is that women are supposed to love men. Through careful argument, Susan Hawthorne takes us through the ideaswhich are central to her argument. She analyses the nature of power, oppression, domination and institutions and applies these to heterosexuality, rape and romantic love. She concludes with a call for women, all women no matter their sexuality, to have separate spaces so they can work together tochange the world and end patriarchy. This 2019 edition includes a Preface and commentary that brings the reader up to date on current controversies in feminist theory.

Looking for a new way forward, or a different explanation of what is currently happening? Susan Hawthorne challenges the universal endorsement of global western culture with her concept of biodiversity, arguing that biodiversity is a useful metaphor for understanding social, political, and economic relations in the globalised world of the twenty-first century. She provides a visionary outlook and proposes ways forward that emphasise social justice, multiversity and an ecologically-grounded feminist philosophy.

A vivid desert odyssey; the falling woman travels through a landscape of memory, myth and mental maps. Told in three voices - Stella, Estella and Estelle - this is an inspiring story which weaves together memories of childhood, epilepsy, ancient mysteries and the love of two women.

In a dawn raid, Kate is arrested. She is imprisoned, beaten, kept awake and tortured. She has no idea what has happened to her partner, Mercedes. The uncertainty plagues her. It is as if she has no history. Trying to retain her sense of self in a swirling psychic state, she invents stories. And she remembers stories of her mother, her grandmothers and aunts, the rich mythic traditions of Greece. She rearranges them and writes poems in her head. After Kate's death, her niece, Desi, is going through boxes of papers, trying to make sense of her aunt's life. Desi travels to South America and unlocks the history of Mercedes' family: a history of political torture, disappearance and escape. Susan Hawthorne's dark story uncovers the hidden histories of organized violence against lesbians. She traces fear and uncertainty, and finds a narrative of resilience created through the writing of poems. The author asks: how do we pass on stories hidden by both shame and resistance to shame? A novel that is poetic and terrifying

"In a globalized world, megacorp publishing is all about numbers, sameness and following the formula of the latest megasuccess. Each book is expected to pay for itself and all the externalities of publishing. It means books that take off slowly but have long lives, books that change social norms, are less likely to be published. Encapsulated in the term bibliodiversity, coined by Chilean publishers in the 1990s, independent publishers are envisioning a different way. Susan Hawthorne provides a scathing critique of the global publishing industry, set against a visionary proposal for organic publishing. She looks at free speech and fair speech, at the environmental costs of mainstream publishing and at the promises and the challenges of the move to digital."--Publisher description.

Der Begriff Bibliodiversität, den Susan Hawthorne in ihrem Buch erklärt, bezeichnet die kulturelle Vielfalt innerhalb des Verlagswesens - und begründet, warum es unabhängige Buchhandlungen und Verlage braucht. ihr Begriff ist inspiriert vom strukturell verwandten Begriff der Biodiversität. Wie diese unverzichtbar für das gesunde Funktionieren eines Ökosystems ist, ist die Bibliodiversität ein indikator für ein funktionierendesBuchwesen. Verlage und Buchhandlungen sind hierbei vergleichbar mit den Bewohnerinnen und Bewohnern eines Ökosystems. Hawthorne kritisiert, dass Großverlage und Großbuchhandlungen ihren Fokus allein auf hohe Auflagen und Verkaufszahlen legen, weshalb die Bibliodiversität aus dem Gleichgewicht gerate. Gerade Bücher von und über Minderheiten sowie Werke aus kleineren Sprachgemeinschaften oder anspruchsvolle literarische Texte finden so keine Verbreitung mehr. Das aber führt letztlich dazu, dass die kulturelle Vielfalt schwindet. Bibliodiversität bietet dagegen eine stolze Selbstdefinition für unabhängige Buchhandlungen und Verlage. Denn diese sind es, die die kulturelle Vielfalt abbilden - und somit erhalten.