Diane Di Prima (1934–2020)

I don't know, maybe it's just my love for di Prima shining through, but I liked it. di Prima discusses in the afterward included many years later that her editor would not stop encouraging more and more sex. It seemed that no matter what she submitted, it was not what her audience was asking for. Of course, you can read this one of two ways: either Diane di Prima was a product of second-wave feminism, encouraged to write a book which is 90% detailed descriptions of sexual acts to prove that show more yes Allen Ginsberg, women can be dirty too, OR this is a perfect example of society continuing to use women as a vessel for their fantasies. Similar to the way women today struggle to reclaim their sexuality while unfortunately continuing to fall victim to the male gaze, di Prima was an artist, and her art was viewed as pornography for the masses.
Now, is this far too graphic for my normal taste in literature? Oh, definitely. But do I see the literary merit in analyzing the difference between each sexual interaction in order to discern the implied importance of consent? You wouldn't believe the number of post-it notes I used on this book if I told you.
This certainly isn't everyone's cup of tea, and I wouldn't recommend you read it on your lunch break, but if you care to learn about sexual freedom in the beat generation or feminism in the late 1960s, you might actually learn a thing or two about your grandmother and her priorities. show less

I find poetry collections hard to review. I definitely know if I think they're good or not. But parsing what makes them good and finding the specifics and language to explain that to other readers can feel next to impossible.

I've been reading Diane di Prima's poems since the early 80s and always find them compelling. Her language pulls readers along like a torrent during flood season: rapidly and totally. Or maybe I should say I consume her writing the way I consume baklava: insatiably and show more much too quickly.

The Revolutionary Letters was originally published by City Lights fifty years ago. This new edition makes it clear that, despite the distance in time, di Prima is still speaking to readers in bold language that forces us to reexamine the nature of our daily existence, the distance between our world and a world with justice.

If you are the sort of person who thinks about things, who cares about true and complicated fairness, who wrestles with ideas, who refuses to give up the dream of a better world, read this book. And reread it. Let it sweep you along, then return to it to savor each word.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own. show less

an very compelling collection which freewheels between poem and political manifesto - even at the latter end it keeps a poetic spark which keeps it from drying up. dI Prima has a pragmatic and honest yet hopeful vision of the future that is radical even 50 years on.

I think my only criticism is in the middle, a lot of the letters become quite loose, long, and almost a little rambly - but not offputtingly so!

Obra-primaça, tem a mesma potência arquetípica que os livros da Jean Shinoda Bolen e da Clarissa Pinkola Estés mas em linguagem poética, deguste um pouco por dia do livro para não acabar e remexer no feminino arquetípico que está em nós, pra isso Di Prima busca de Liltih à Eva, de Persefone à Maria, de Kali à Ishtar. Belíssimo.