Bad Names for Women (Word Works capital collection) [Paperback]

Hilary Tham (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

At The Wailing Wall
Beds
The Body Is Weak
Breach
Cousin Lo's Gifts
Dancing The Hakafot
The Daughter Of Survivors
Dayenu
The Death Of Fish
Elaine
Eve
The First Time Is Always A Disappointment
Grandmother's Left Eye
Jaffa Orange: 1. Aliyah
Jaffa Orange: 2. Pilpul With The Rebbe
Kitefighting Season
A Liberated Woman
Lint Filter
Mama Washington On How To Fry Fish
Mama Washington's Daughter Talks Back
The Man
May Means Beautiful In Chinese
Mountains
Mrs %. Wei Goes Home To Shensi
Mrs. Wei Disagrees With Richard Wilbur
Mrs. Wei Goes To The Dogs
Mrs. Wei In America
Mrs. Wei In Peking
Mrs. Wei Is Unhappy With The Sexual Revolution
Mrs. Wei Wants To Beleive The First Amendment
My Father Makes A Sales Pitch
The Naming
Nurses
Odalisques Were Invented By Men
Old Customers
Ruth Takes A Chance
Salt And The Sword
San Chi
Shadows
'sukkot With Laura Jacobs
There Are No Kungfu Fighters In My Family Tree
Women
You've Come A Long Way, Baby
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

Product Details

• Paperback: 71 pages
• Publisher: Word Works; 1st edition (April 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0915380234
• ISBN-13: 978-0915380237
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,208,739 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truth and Wisdom, Mixed With Humor, May 23, 2002

By 

Bernadette Geyer (Vienna, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bad Names for Women (Word Works capital collection) (Paperback)

Bad Names for Women -- The title brings to mind the derogatory terms we hear frequently. However, Hilary Tham's poetry goes far deeper -- to the roots of cultural stereotypes about women. Tham is Malaysian and Chinese, her husband, Jewish; this background provides much of the inspiration for her poems.

Bad Names for Women is divided into three sections. The first, "Chinese Mother", draws upon Tham's heritage. Many of the poems revolve around the central figure of Mrs. Wei, through whom we get to see cultures clashing, as in "Mrs. Wei is Unhappy With the Sexual Revolution":

From the beginning, women have made men
pay for sex -- a leg of wild boar, gold
chains, marriage. Now, their daughters give
it away, call it freedom!

The second section, "Jewish Mother", looks at the heritage of Jewish women (with the obligatory mention of Lilith) and the difficulties of such a male-oriented religion, as in "Dancing the HaKafot":

This year, our synagogue allowed women
to dance the HaKafot. Hair streaming from headscarves,
we panted out songs and twirled with the men . . .

In a corner, the retired rabbi reproves
his wife with harsh words. Infected
with the momentum of the young, she has broken
a lifelong taboo. She has carried the Torah
with bare, female hands . . .

The third section, "Woman, by Any Name", is more feminist in sensibility and is wildly provacative. With titles like "A Liberated Woman", "The First Time is Always a Disappointment", and "Odalisques Were Invented by Men", it's hard to pick only one as an example. You will just have to go pick up a copy of the book and see for yourself.

5.0 out of 5 stars Clarity, common sense and good story-telling, May 5, 2000

By 

Dean Blehert (Reston, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bad Names for Women (Word Works capital collection) (Paperback)

I recommend this and ALL Hilary Tham's books. She writes clearly and often humorously and isn't afraid to take a stab at wisdom -- and often hits it. I find her poems bracing and lively, both tough and warm. If you read her poems, you feel you've found a friend.