The Notebooks That Emma Gave Me
The Autobiography of a Lesbian
Kay Van Deurs
Chronology is not strictly adhered to as the mind does not operate with that kind of order. Roughly there is a chronology involved and it includes: childhood reminiscences; the Workshop (for children in New York City, started in the early 1960s by Kay Van Deurs–lasted 3 years); Peace Corps stint (1965-1967) first with the Cuna indians on the San Bias Islands, then in Neuvo Veranillo (an experimental village) in Panama; involvement with Quakers and the anti-war movement (marches, sit-ins, pacifism, jail); February 1972 Kay Van Deurs and Emma covered the story of three slag heap dams that burst in West Virginia and washed away several towns (i.e. Pardee, Stowe, Becco); and Kay Van Deurs’ life as a silversmith/jeweler, living on the financial edge in New York.
The previous paragraph is only the barest outline. Van Deurs has filled it in richly. Bits and pieces of analysis and personal philosophy are interwoven with the stories she wrote about her life. A sense of the whole person and how she came to be who she is today (or as of 1978) has taken shape throughout the reading of this book.
‘If each woman is allowed to speak, to think, to decides — as in CR–then how can any small group control us? If women refuse to arrange ourselves at the bottom of a pyramid and insist upon sitting in circles, what is to become of us?’
Many of us do as Van Deurs and keep journals and write dangerous letters. Van Deurs’ book is valuable because, in a real sense, it is my story, too, and your story, and our story. We can recognize ourselves in each others’ works and learn and grow from the experience. I invite you all to share this book and grow in our becoming. ~ Terre Pop, Off Our Backs, Vol. 9, No. 4 (April 1979),
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Details
| Genre | Autobiography/Biography; Grier Rated |
| Publication Date | 1978 |
| Publisher | Self-Published |
| Format | Paperback |
| Language | English |
| Rating | Great |
| Photographer | Diana Davies |
| BookID | 9003 |
