Author of Girl Power: The Nineties Revolution in Music
with Allison Wolfe of Bratmobile
and Denise Oswald, editor and director of Soft Skull Press
The early nineties was the time of the riot grrl. Girls across the country put down gender roles and classic feminist critiques, and picked up instruments, zines, and revolutionary politics. For years the best bands were almost exclusively girl bands.
Author Marisa Meltzer is the coauthor of How Sassy Changed My Life (Faber, 2007). Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Slate, Elle, and Teen Vogue. She lives in Brooklyn. She'll be here with the legendary Allison Wolfe of Bratmobile and editor Denise Oswald to talk about the book, the music and the movement.
News of Note
Staff Picks
The Adderall Diaries
Written by Sam
By Stephen Elliott (Graywolf Press, $23.00)
I swallowed this book whole in a single night. Part memoir, part true-crime investigation, The Adderall Diaries plumbs the depths of memory, family, writer's block, study drugs, wounds both emotional and physical, and murders confessed and denied. Gripping, gripping stuff.
Light on Yoga
Written by David
By B.K.S. Iyengar (Schoken, $18.95)
Books on yoga come, and books on yoga go. Light on Yoga, though, was published in 1966 and is here to stay. B.K.S. Iyengar's seminal and comprehensive guide, with its focus on precise postural alignment, is in a class of its own. If you were to own just one book on yoga, this should be it.
If the Buddha Dated
Written by Adjua
By Charlotte Kasl (Penguin, $14.00)
This tiny, little thing is a powerhouse of deep love and gentle courage. I wept for days as I read so relieved to hear empowering advice that didn't vilify or constrain others, and so sad I had not realized sooner that love could work like this. Wise and simple, Kasl's guidance for romance encourages first becoming whole unto yourself and finding a partner from that place of strength--a potent alternative to the ubiquitous, fear-based approaches to romance. I can hardly think of any more appropriate application of Buddhism than the right-minded search for a life partner, and Kasl has presented that beautifully here.
I swallowed this book whole in a single night. Part memoir, part true-crime investigation, The Adderall Diaries plumbs the depths of memory, family, writer's block, study drugs, wounds both emotional and physical, and murders confessed and denied. Gripping, gripping stuff.
Books on yoga come, and books on yoga go. Light on Yoga, though, was published in 1966 and is here to stay. B.K.S. Iyengar's seminal and comprehensive guide, with its focus on precise postural alignment, is in a class of its own. If you were to own just one book on yoga, this should be it.
This tiny, little thing is a powerhouse of deep love and gentle courage. I wept for days as I read so relieved to hear empowering advice that didn't vilify or constrain others, and so sad I had not realized sooner that love could work like this. Wise and simple, Kasl's guidance for romance encourages first becoming whole unto yourself and finding a partner from that place of strength--a potent alternative to the ubiquitous, fear-based approaches to romance. I can hardly think of any more appropriate application of Buddhism than the right-minded search for a life partner, and Kasl has presented that beautifully here.