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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
AMT: fluent, fluid, integral and holy,
By William Courson "William Courson" (Montclair, New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Another Mother Tongue: Gay Words, Gay Worlds (Paperback)
Another Mother Tongue is one of the dozen or so most important books I have ever read. It may well be one of the most important books ever written, at the very least having to do with queer life.
It is a luminous tapestry uniting strands of cultural history, folklore, the queer collective unconscious and autobiography, woven with superlative skill in which is recounted everything of importance about us as a people: who we are, where we've come from, and why we are special. The author develops her thesis that, as queers, we are heir to a special office of great antiquity and critical import. We queers are the standers on the Threshold and keepers of the Gate. It is to those like ourselves that civilizations and societies locked in the throes of radical transformation turn, as though to a physician to assure a painless and quiet death for the old and as though to midwives to attend the safe birth of that which is new. The product of over a decade of research, the author has done nothing less than retrieve our entire suppressed history, our folklore, our pantheons of deities and demons, our spiritual heritage and its lineages and our glorious language - another mother tongue. Among the most critical things we learn (or are reminded of in case we've forgotten) from Ms. Grahn's epochal volume is that our tradition is an old one - a very, very old one, and that it is continuous thanks to the work of our spiritual ancestors: our first lover's first lover's first lover. We are reminded that it crosses national and hemispheric boundaries, and that it has spiritual roots. Grahn also reminds us of the intense degree of violent oppression to which the matrix heterosexist culture has gone (and may be prepared to go again) to marginalize our traditions, rob us of our empowerment, cripple our psyches and deny our special worth and status. The author relates in her notes how, of all of the moving events that followed the initial publication of AMT in 1984 the most moving was her encounter with a Maori lesbian in New Zealand, who fell weeping into her arms because she at last could see and understand the meaning of her life story. Having read and re-read this volume, I know just how that woman felt. Judy Grahn has brought to our collective consciousness as a people things long kept within the racial memory. This she has done in a beautifully readable fashion. She knows all of the old stories, and she has the signs and persuasions - all of them. This is a book that deserves to be read, read again and loved.
17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
almost perfect history of gay culture,
By A Customer
This review is from: Another Mother Tongue: Gay Words, Gay Worlds (Paperback)
Judy Grahn has deftly researched the subject of homosexual culture, both lesbian and gay. She demystifies the sources of popularly exepted "gay" language and mores'. She also clearly defines the original place of the gay male and the lesbian womin in herstory as well as history. A thorougly good read and an educational groundwork for anyone curious-for any reason-about homosexual culture. An impressive peice of work that I highly recommend!
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Mother Tongue: fluent and holy,
By William Courson (Montclair, NJ, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Another Mother Tongue: Gay Words, Gay Worlds (Paperback)
Judy Grahn's book is one of the most important books I've ever read. It may well be one of the most important books ever written, at the very least having to do with gay life. It is a luminous tapestry of cultural history, folklore and autobiography woven with superlative skill in which is recounted nearly everything of importance about us as a people: who we are, where we've come from, where we're likely headed, and why we are special. The product of over a decade of research, the author has done nothing less than retrieve our entire suppressed history, our folklore, our pantheons of deities, our heritage, our heros and our glorious language - another mother tongue. Among the most critically important things we learn (or are reminded of) by Grahn's epochal work is that our tradition is an old one - a very, very old one, and that it is continuous thanks to the work of our spiritual ancestors (our first lover's first lover's first lover), that it crosses national and hemispheric boundaries and that it has spiritual roots. Grahn also reminds us of the intense, unrelenting degree of suppression to which the matrix heterosexist culture has gone (and may be prepared to go again) to marginalize our tradition. The author relates in her notes how, of all of the moving events that followed the initial publication of AMT in 1984 the most moving was her encounter with a Maori lesbian warrior in New Zealand, who fell weeping into her arms because she at last could see and understand the meaning of her life story. Having read, and re-read this volume, I know just how that woman felt. Judy Grahn has returned to our collective consciousness secret, sacred things long kept within the "racial memory." This she has done in a beautifully readable fashion. Judy Grahn knows all of the old stories, and she knows the signs and the persuasions - all of them - that are the spiritial patrimony of our people. This is a book to be loved, and that deserves to be read and read again.
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