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Biographies to Checkout for Women’s History Month: Rosemary and Goddess of Anarchy

6 Mar

For Women’s History Month I decided to review two biographies of women whose importance is frequently neglected. Rosemary Kennedy and Lucy Parsons have only recently been given comprehensive biographies. Although they remain somewhat obscure figures in American history, they have impacted modern life much more than many people realize. These are just two of the many excellent biographies that the Hoboken Library has in its collection.

Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter
by Kate Clifford Larson
Rosemary
The Kennedy’s are one of the most documented families in American history, but for decades, the public knew little about the eldest Kennedy sister, Rosemary. Unlike her highly ambitious siblings who were being groomed by their parents for elite society, Rosemary struggled with basic skills and had trouble socializing. Had she been born today, Rosemary’s could have lived a comfortable life, but because she was born into a family with impossibly high standards during a time when people with intellectual disabilities were poorly understand, Rosemary was subjected to a series of cruel treatments, the most horrific being a prefrontal lobotomy she was given at 23-years-old that left her severely disabled and isolated from the public for the rest of her life.

Despite the barbaric way in which she was treated, Rosemary’s life had a great impact on the outside world. Eunice Kennedy Shriver was so horrified by what had happened to her sister that she dedicated her life to advocating for people with disabilities and helped begin the Special Olympics. While in the Senate, Ted Kennedy cosponsored the Americans with Disabilities Act, which he dedicated to his sister who he had barely gotten to know but whose life deeply affected him. What makes Kate Larson’s Rosemary such an excellent read is that it is not just a biography of Rosemary Kennedy; it is also the story of the fight for a more humane society for people with disabilities.

You can borrow Rosemary as an ebook or digital audiobook from eLibraryNJ, eBCCLS and Hoopla.

Goddess of Anarchy: The Life and Times of Lucy Parsons, American Radical
by Jacqueline Jones
Goddess of Anarchy
During her life, Lucy Parsons was one of the most well-known speakers on America’s public lecture circuit and at times, the most prominent African American woman in such a position. However, Lucy Parsons has remained an obscure historical figure who has not had a strong biography until Pulitzer Prize nominee Jacqueline Jones uncovered newly discovered documents about her early life. With this new insight in Goddess of Anarchy, Jones illustrates the life of a fearless speaker and activist with a very complex legacy.

Parsons identified as an anarchist, communist, and revolutionary. She was a fierce advocate for the downtrodden and oppressed and was involved in many volatile labor struggles. Her controversial statements and writings led her to spend many nights in jail, but she amazingly lived to be 89-years-old and spent her entire life trying to advance her revolutionary beliefs. At a time when black women were mostly shut out of intellectual life, Parsons’ ability to inspire a crowd was incredibly admirable.

Parson leaves behind a difficult political and racial legacy. Although she was born into slavery, she lied about her background and claimed to be Mexican and Native American. Spending much of her life in Chicago, she identified with city’s white working class immigrants and was accused of downplaying issues of discrimination against African Americans during the time of Jim Crow. There are also questions about whether her violent rhetoric hurt the progress of the causes she believed in. Regardless of what the reader conclude about Parsons, she is a fascinating figure whose role in women’s history in worth exploring.

You can borrow Goddess of Anarchy from eBCCLS as an ebook.

Looking for books for the younger members of your family?  You can get some great suggestions for biographies for children in our previous blog post: Well Behaved Women Don’t Make History.  For more books for adults and some also appropriate for teens we have Heroines You Should Know.  What are some of your favorite biographies about women who have changed history for adults or kids? Share them in our comments!

Written by:
Karl Schwartz
Young Adult Librarian

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A Book So Good it Defies Description: They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib

27 Feb

They Can't Kill Us
Have you ever really loved a book, but had a hard time describing it to everyone? They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us is one of those books for me. I loved it so much and told everyone I could about it, but every time they’d ask me, “Oh, so what’s it about?” I would pause and then manage to stutter something along the lines of “Uhh, it’s about music, but not just music, it’s like…uhhh”

OKAY, take a seat. I’m about to settle this once and for all. They Can’t Kill Us is a collection of essays by Hanif Abdurraqib. In these essays, Abdurraqib essentially describes the world in which he lives through the lens of what’s dearest to him: pop culture. When you start reading, you can immediately tell what moves Abdurraqib the most: music. From Fall Out Boy to Whitney Houston, Chance the Rapper to Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac to Carly Rae Jepsen, there’s something for everyone. Have you ever wondered about the connection between Johnny Cash and Migos? Rejoice! You’ve found your match!

But these aren’t simply essays about music and sports and what have you. Abdurraqib covers the loss of loved ones, what it’s like to be black in a mostly white punk scene, what it’s like to navigate today’s America with an Arabic name, and so much more.

There are two things that are evident to me when reading Abdurraqib’s work. The first is his background in poetry. Even though this is a book of prose, the way he works language is poetic and an absolute joy to read. At the end of each essay, I’d find myself exhaling sharply – something I usually do after reading a particularly poignant poem. The second thing that is clear is that these are the words of a man who writes with passion. For me as a reader, there is nothing more delightful.

I haven’t (nor will I ever be able to) read all the books in the universe, but I am fairly confident that in the future, people will say that Hanif Abdurraqib was one of the greatest writers of our time. A lofty thing to say, I know! So check it out for yourself and let me know if you think I’m right or wrong.  Let us know in our comment sections who you think are some of the greatest writers.

Hoboken resident library card holders can head over to Hoopla and Freegal to stream some of the music Abdurraqib mentions in his book and more great tunes that will inspire you!

Written By:
Samantha Evaristo
Library Outreach Assistant

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