Women at the Well [Paperback]

Olivia Diamond (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0759628823 | ISBN-13: 978-0759628823 | Publication Date: August 1, 2001

In first person, sixty-one Old and New Testament women re-tell Biblical stories from their unique perspectives. In the pivotal poem of the collection, the Samaritan woman recalls her meeting with Jesus at the well years later as an old woman. Like her, all the women in these dramatic monologues yearn for that water which will become a wellspring from which eternal life will flow. Water, a typically feminine symbol, binds all these disparate voices, some strident and defiant, others humorous. The poems are arranged chronologically from Eve to Damaris. Crying defiance against the priesthood, Jezebel proudly defends her name, “Always a curse lisped between lips\I swear, of women-hating priests\who strive to suppress the feminine\No shame it is to be named Jezebel.” In a lighter vein, Mary of Bethany declares herself “the housewife’s patron saint\not my sister Martha dusting and polishing.\All you everyday housewives who would be holy\throw away your brooms, brushes and rag mops.\What profit a clean house when you lose your soul?” This collection of persona poems provides a refreshing, and sometimes shocking, counterpoint to the mostly male point-of-view the Bible affords. Women at the Well, readers will hear Biblical women speak tougher and wittier words than Scripture allows. This edition revises and greatly expands the original collection of Women at the Well of 1989 and the second edition of 2001.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Anne
Bathsheba
Damaris
Deborah
Delila
Dinah
Elizabeth
Esther
Eve
Hagar
Jezebel
Judith
Lot's Wife
Lydia
Mary Of Bethany
Mary: Birth
Mary: Cana
Mary: Triptych
Miriam
Rahab
Rebecca
Ruth
Salome
Sarah
Sarah, Wife Of Tobias
Susanna
Tamar
The Woman At The Well
The Woman Who Hemorrhaged For Twelve Years
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

These are not the women we studied in Sunday school; they sing out the real story between the lines of the Bible where their lives were first recorded. In "HERLAND #14," they clear the air as the feminist poet gives them their say, however crude and irreverent it is in comparison to the lofty King James version. Even Mary. Mother of God, is wise and conniving. All twentyseven of these dramatic personas speak spontaneously, and the halos around the sanctified fathers and mothers of Judaism and Christianity quickly tarnish. Hagar recalls Sarah as an old woman giving birth: "Her brat Issac was born fat as a turd"; Lot's wife discounts God's reasons for destroying Sodom and Gomorrah as "ancient twaddle"; and "Me Woman Who Hemorrhaged for Twelve Years" and touched the hem of Christ to be healed, remembers "following the Nazarene, / bloody, brown-red rags / between my legs blowing / twelve-year-old rankness." Susanna, used by the elders, says, "Yes I have lusted too / like these wizened judges, / lusted for sleek limbs, / for the chest of a man / not growing breasts." Despite a few slips into puffed-up rhetoric and prosaic delivery, Diamond's book is surprisingly tough and witty as the Women at the Well speak words more cunning than the Living Word could ever allow. And they're comically opinionated, as well. -- From Independent Publisher --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 108 pages
• Publisher: 1st Book Library (August 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0759628823
• ISBN-13: 978-0759628823
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,320,370 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in Chicago, Olivia Diamond writes novels, short stories and poetry. She lived in Rockford, Illinois, until 1998 when she moved to a mountain retreat in northwest Montana twenty-five miles from the nearest town. She holds a B.A.in English from Northern Illinois University and a M.A from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Her husband Rod Rogers writes science-fiction novels. When not writing, they enjoy nature and fishing. They share their log home with a calico cat, who critiques their writing even when she isn't asked her opinion. Olivia has been writing fiction since age 18 (and is not related to the children's book pig of the same name). Her main interests are historical novels, fiction with psychological depth, and narrative poetry. Despite the Montana transplant, she probably still is hopelessly Midwestern (at least natives say her accent is), because she avoids extremes, is eclectic in her tastes, and respects traditon. Thus, putting herself smack dab back in the Middle.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The bible from a feminist point of view, December 1, 2010

By 

literature lover - See all my reviews

This review is from: Women at the Well (Paperback)

It is about time! This is the bible from a uniquely female (and feminist) point of view, and it is good to see some deflation of these biblical stuffed shirts. Not for anyone who feels biblical figures must be taken as above reproach. This is also a profound exploration of what it means to be female in a rigid Christian culture, and has some surprisingly sympathetic accounts of the males as well. Mary's poem is heartrending and creates a very human woman and mother. Poetry written with passion and elegance.

5.0 out of 5 stars An interesting and enlightening perspective, November 24, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Women at the Well (Herland, No 14) (Paperback)

Women at the well places the reader into the personae of various biblical women via narrative poetry. This is a very interesting counterpoint to most of the historical renditions we get by reading the mostly-male point of view in the bible. I found it moving...