Silence and the Word [Paperback]

Mary Anne Mohanraj (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 5, 2004

A new collection drawing from the many areas of Mary Anne Mohanraj's work, Silence and the Word includes everything from enticing erotica to Sri Lankan-American immigrant tales, from romantic poetry to provocative essays. Mohanraj boldly explores sexuality, ethnicity, and their interactions with the human heart. If you're a long-time fan, you'll be thrilled to have so much of her work finally collected in one place; if you're a new reader, prepare to be emotionally engaged, possibly aroused, and certainly fascinated by what you're about to read.

Editorial Reviews

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

From the Author Introduction...

"...There was a strange time, a few years ago, when I was living in Salt Lake City (and perhaps influenced by the overwhelming conservatism). I wondered why I was still writing about sex, why I spent so much time and energy on it. Was it purely for the shock value, the admittedly sometimes fun role of the black sheep?

"My sex writing may have started that way, a little, but I believe that there's more to it -- that the real reasons I keep writing about sex are intimately tied to the power of the material. Sex writing, perhaps because of its taboo nature, has the power to reveal aspects of human nature that are otherwise inaccessible. Writing about sex can be scary -- when I'm writing revelatory memoir pieces like "Silence and the Word" and "Under the Skin," it can be downright terrifying. But that only underlines its importance, and its interest.

"After ten years, I still find that writing about sex is the most interesting writing I've done -- not sex as simple titillation, or for shock value, but sex as it relates to and reveals the intricacies of the human heart. In passion, we are stripped bare, we reveal our fragile and vulnerable selves. We can only hope that the world will value us for what we are, will see us clearly and with generous eyes..."

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Lethe Press (May 5, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159021014X
• ISBN-13: 978-1590210147
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,525,209 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mary Anne Mohanraj received her Ph.D. from the University of Utah, specializing in post-colonial literature and creative writing. She is the author of several books, including her dissertation novel, BODIES IN MOTION, an exploration of sexuality, marriage, and Sri Lankan/American immigrant concerns. Her academic research includes an exploration of black masculinity in the work of horror writer Tananarive Due, and an bio-bibliography on Due published in Richard Bleiler's SUPERNATURAL FICTION WRITERS. She currently serves as a referee for FOUNDATION, THE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF SCIENCE FICTION, and as Director of both the SPECULATIVE LITERATURE FOUNDATION (www.speculativeliterature.org) and of DESILIT (www.desilit.org). Mohanraj has recently received an Illinois Arts Council fellowship, a Neff fellowship in English, a Steffenson-Canon fellowship in the Humanities, and the Scowcroft Prize for Fiction. She lives in Chicago and is currently writing a follow-up novel to BODIES IN MOTION, tentatively titled THE ARRANGEMENT.