Women's contributions to science fiction have been lasting and important. This is a collection of 11 key stories, alongside 11 essays that explore the stories' contexts, meanings, and theoretical implications. Organized chronologically, it aims to create a different canon of feminist science fiction and examines the theory that addresses it.
She was both guardian of the hearth and, on occasion, ruler and warrior, leading men into battle, managing the affairs of her people, sporting war paint as well as necklaces and earrings—she is the Native American woman. She built houses and ground corn, wove blankets and painted pottery, played field hockey and rode racehorses. Frequently she enjoyed an open and joyous sexuality before marriage; if her marriage didn't work out she could divorce her husband by the mere act of returning to her parents. She mourned her dead by tearing her clothes and covering herself with ashes, and when she herself died was often shrouded in her wedding dress. She was our native sister, the American Indian woman, and it is of her life and lore that Carolyn Niethammer writes in this rich tapestry of America's past and present. Here, as it unfolded, is the chronology of the Native American woman's life. Here are the birth rites of Caddo women from the Mississippi-Arkansas border, who bore their children alone by the banks of rivers and then immersed themselves and their babies in river water; here are Apache puberty ceremonies that are still carried on today, when the cost for the celebrations can run anywhere from one to six thousand dollars. Here are songs from the Night Dances of the Sioux, where girls clustered on one side of the lodge and boys congregated on the other; here is the Shawnee legend of the Corn Person and of Our Grandmother, the two female deities who ruled the earth. Far from the submissive, downtrodden “squaw” of popular myth, the Native American woman emerges as a proud, sometimes stoic, always human individual from whom those who came after can learn much. At a time when many contemporary American women are seeking alternatives to a lifestyle and role they have outgrown, Daughters of the Earth offers us an absorbing—and illuminating—legacy of dignity and purpose.
Fight your darkness. Or embrace it. Reborn. Otylia's time in Nawia granted her great power and even greater questions. After years of following her goddesses' commands, her path is now her own. But she doubts her decisions at every turn. She'd anticipated her return home for a moon, but this strange land where desert and winter clash is no more familiar than the kingdom of the dead. Conquered and enslaved by Marzanna's Frostmarked, these people see her as their only hope. How can she trust herself to save them, though, when she can't even protect the boy she loves? Corrupted. Struggling against the demon's growing strength, Wacław knows he fights a war he cannot win. His soul is gone, and his hope vanished with it. All that holds back the darkness is his bond with Otylia, but he senses her fear of what he's become. He isn't the same boy who left Dwie Rzeki moons ago. To free the people of this new land from Marzanna, he needs his power more than ever. But as the demon's hunger grows, will he resist its temptations or surrender to the rage within? Travel to distant lands and face the dark heart of Slavic myths as The Frostmarked Chronicles continue after the shocking conclusion to The Trials of Ascension.
""Bevis has done a wonderful job building the worlds that the gods occupy as well as giving them a place in the modern world." Amazon Top Reviewer and author, Margaret Lesh "I stayed up way too late, again! I had to know what happened! You might call me irresponsible, and that may be true. But when a series comes along and grabs you like Daughters of Zeus, it really can't be helped." Amazon Top Reviewer and author, Rachel Wagner "I need to calm down before I write this review because I am still reeling from the book. OMG! I thought book 1: Persephone was good, but this was WAY BETTER! Lastly, OMG!!! I need book 3 so badly . . ." Amazon Top Reviewer and author, Mary Smith The Daughters of Zeus Series, Book Two Some vows can never be broken, especially when you've recently found out you're a goddess. In the flick of a eyelash Persephone has gone from being a high school junior in Athens, Georgia to the wife of Hades, god of the Underworld. Under his platonic protection, she's waiting for springtime, when Boreas, the sinister god of winter, will stop stalking her. But even Hades can't keep Boreas and his minions from threatening her. Finally she escapes back to the world of the living. Maybe she can just go back to normal--and forget that she's fallen in love with Hades. She's wrong. Thanatos--a friend from the Underworld, has betrayed her. Persephone can't tell anyone about Thanatos' betrayal, and it drives a wedge between her and Hades. And then there's Aphrodite, the gorgeous goddess who was born among the ocean waves with more charm than she can control. Persephone's dearest ally, Melissa, is furious and jealous when Aphrodite starts winning Persephone's friendship. Persephone turns to a human boy for friendship. But will their relationship put him in danger? Persephone must choose between her human life and her responsibilities as a goddess. If she doesn't, she could lose that life and Hades, too. But either way, she may not survive her father's schemes. After all, she's Zeus's daughter. Kaitlin Bevis spent her childhood curled up with a book and a pen. If the ending didn't agree with her, she rewrote it. Because she's always wanted to be a writer, she spent high school and college learning everything she could to achieve that goal. After graduating college with a BFA and Masters in English, Kaitlin went on to write The Daughters of Zeus series. www.kaitlinbevis.com"
“A gorgeous, different, and completely engrossing book. Burian’s writing is transporting -- and exactly what I needed right now.” — Jessica Valenti, author of Sex Object: A Memoir In rural West Virginia, Joanie and her foster siblings live on a farm tending a mysterious plant called the vine. The older girls are responsible for cultivating the vine, performing sacred rituals to make it grow. After Joanie’s arranged marriage goes horribly wrong, leaving her widowed and with a baby, she plots her escape with the help of her foster brother, Cello. But before they can get away, her baby goes missing and Joanie, desperate to find him, turns to the vine, understanding it to be far more powerful than her siblings realize. She begins performing generations-old rituals to summon the vine’s power and goes on a perilous journey into the wild, pushing the boundaries of her strength and sanity to bring her son home. Daughters of the Wild is an utterly absorbing debut that explores the female mind in captivity and the ways in which both nature and women fight domination. Like The Bell Jar set in rural Appalachia, Daughters of the Wild introduces a fierce new heroine and a striking new voice in fiction.
Gives voice to Native American women in this examination of Native American lifeways--including such quotidian matters as food, clothing and powwows--as well as Native ways of knowing and structuring society.
