Jewelle Gomez

In 1850, A runaway slave hides herself in the cellar of a seemingly abandoned farm. She falls into an exhausted sleep only to be awakened by the white woman who owns the farm. But instead of throwing her back to the men chasing her, the woman -- Gilda -- hides her, provides shelter and a home for her at her brothel near New Orleans, educates the Girl as if she were family, introducing her to her lover Bird, a Lakota woman. Together, the three women form a strong bond, strong enough that Gilda decides the she has finally found the one for Bird, to replace her when she takes the true death so that Bird won't be alone in the many hundreds of years she has before her. The three head back to the farm where Gilda asks the Girl if she wants the life of a vampire and all that goes with it.

From that point, the Girl's life changes, she takes on the name of Gilda and learns from Bird and from her new, extended family what it means to be a vampire, to take a little bit of life from a human in exchange for life: pushing them to fulfill a dream or to just ease the mind. No death, that's not what the vampire family is about. Through 200 years, beginning in Louisiana, traveling through the early pioneering days in Yerba Buena, protecting friends and family from her hair salon in the South End of Boston to being hunted as the world lies in ruins due to global climate changes brought about by neglectful politicoes in 2050, Gilda strives to find herself, to uncover what it truly means not just to be a vampire, but to learn what a family really is: the people you care about and who care about you, no matter who or what you are.

What impressed me most about this novel was the humanity of the vampires. Not the typical, cut-throat blood-thirsty fiends from 'Salem's Lot nor the whiney aristocrats from Interview with the Vampire. Instead, they helped those in need, taking only what was necessary to survive, and creating their own family in a world that doesn't understand them. A great book for those who want something other than the typical vampire story.… (more)

Stunning. I know Gomez through her Gilda Stories, some of which are near-perfect. But her poetry, I was unprepared for such breadth of references literary (Audre Lorde, Gertrude Stein, Angelina Grimke, Tracy Chapman, Tennessee Williams, Gil Scot-Heron), cultural (Eleanor Bumpers, Sally Ride, Cellini), and political (Biden, Trump, Loving v. Virginia). And more: there are odes to streetcars, to a buckskin dress, to a restaurant (which is so superb, you can see, hear, feel the movement in every line). Every poem is deeply felt and gorgeously written with surprises in every stanza. The book feels like a meditation on the people, books, traditions that make Gomez who she is, a lesbian poet of color ("I love writing the words: / A coloured lesbian" p.46), of Native ancestry. There is such real feeling here, such wit and intelligence, such unexpected turns. This reminded me of June Jordan in its passion and political engagement, but, really, this book is one of a kind.… (more)