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The idea for assembling this outstanding anthology of
Sacred Voices came to editor Mary Ford-Grabowsky while she was packing up her possessions for a move to a new household. Sorting through her stack of spiritually inspirational quotes written on Post-It notes, it suddenly occurred to her that almost all of the quotes were by men. "How could I have ignored the sacred wisdom of my own sex?" she asks. The answer, of course, is that it was an easy oversight considering the historical credence given to the masculine perspective of the divine over the earthier, fleshy, relationship-centered perspective of the feminine.
Thus began Ford-Grabowsky's quest to assemble an anthology of women's spiritual writing. "I had expected the spiritual beauty and tenderness, the love and quiet wisdom, but not the towering, tested, truly holy strength," writes Ford-Grabowsky, who took five years to gather this powerful collection. Those seeking more traditional or orthodox religious writings will have to look elsewhere. But others who long for a feminine vision--whether to heal a spiritual crisis or simply find a quote to stick by a computer monitor--will find this anthology deeply satisfying. The first half is devoted to historical voices, such as Julian of Norwich, England; the Ashanti women of Ghana; and Lady Kasa of Japan. In the second half, "Voices of Our Times," readers will find the likes of Isadora Duncan, Virginia Woolf, Pema Chödrön, Sharon Olds, and Amy Tan. --Gail Hudson
From Publishers Weekly
Ford-Grabowsky (Prayers for All People) has produced a rich anthology of spiritual writing by women. The product of the editor's decades-long journey into feminist spirituality, this collection is distinguished by its dizzying breadth. It includes both medieval mystics, such as Julian of Norwich, and contemporary memoirists, like Kathleen Norris. Christians, like nun Joan Chittister, are side-by-side with Vodou practitioners (Karen McCarthy Brown) and pagans (Starhawk). Ford-Grabowsky has even made sure to include many different genres: poetry, like Emily Dickinson's "I Had Been Hungry All the Years," complements excerpts from novels by Amy Tan and Virginia Woolf. She is to be commended for her choice of distinguished translations: poet Jane Kenyon translates Anna Akhmatova, and Langston Hughes eloquently renders Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral's "Prayer." One only wishes for a few more conservative voices. Jewish renewal rabbi Tirzah Firestone is here, but where is Orthodox Jewish Torah teacher Avivah Zornberg? Mainline Protestant (and scholar of Hinduism) Diana Eck writes an essay called "Encountering God in Other Traditions," but where is Frederica Mathewes-Green on her conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy or Ruth Bell Graham on evangelism? Ford-Grabowsky has provided concise, informative and lively biographical sketches of each contributor, and she concludes the book with a useful guide to further reading. This lovely collection will make an excellent gift, an inspiring bedside companion or a handy resource for preachers, writers and spiritual dreamers.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
