The Disenfranchised: Stories of Life and Grief When an Ex-Spouse Dies offers an unprecedented anthology of never-before-published, first-person life histories by ex-spouses whose grief has endured as disenfranchised: socially unacknowledged, untold, and unrecognised. Each story of disenfranchised grief is fiercely honest and courageously made public. This anthology has no parallels in current texts, academic literature or mainstream publications. Contributors present personal histories, revealing that the dimensions of disenfranchised grief are as individual as the writers who have endured this neglected aspect of grief and bereavement. In many narratives, the healing power of their creative processes through art and poetry is further revealed. The anthology is compiled and edited by Peggy Sapphire, MS (Guidance and Counseling), a writer living in Vermont. Over the span of five years, through phone conversations and written communications, Ms. Sapphire established trusting relationships with the contributors, who, though choosing to submit their work, often struggled with reluctance, even dread, at revisiting previously private events in their lives and finally committing their stories to paper, and ultimately to publication. Each narrative is accompanied by a clinical commentary, written by Shirley Scott, MS, certified Thanatologist, which provides readers, whether academic, practitioner, student, or lay, with reflections on the issues and patterns of disenfranchised grief, as reflected by each narrative. Included in each commentary are bibliographic references for further and advanced study. The contributors represent an extraordinary range of professional achievements and academic credentials--well-published writers, poets, working artists, educators, academics, mental health practitioners, and health professionals.

The Disenfranchised: Stories of Life and Grief When an Ex-Spouse Dies offers an unprecedented anthology of never-before-published, first-person life histories by ex-spouses whose grief has endured as disenfranchised: socially unacknowledged, untold, and unrecognised. Each story of disenfranchised grief is fiercely honest and courageously made public. This anthology has no parallels in current texts, academic literature or mainstream publications. Contributors present personal histories, revealing that the dimensions of disenfranchised grief are as individual as the writers who have endured this neglected aspect of grief and bereavement. In many narratives, the healing power of their creative processes through art and poetry is further revealed. The anthology is compiled and edited by Peggy Sapphire, MS (Guidance and Counseling), a writer living in Vermont. Over the span of five years, through phone conversations and written communications, Ms. Sapphire established trusting relationships with the contributors, who, though choosing to submit their work, often struggled with reluctance, even dread, at revisiting previously private events in their lives and finally committing their stories to paper, and ultimately to publication. Each narrative is accompanied by a clinical commentary, written by Shirley Scott, MS, certified Thanatologist, which provides readers, whether academic, practitioner, student, or lay, with reflections on the issues and patterns of disenfranchised grief, as reflected by each narrative. Included in each commentary are bibliographic references for further and advanced study. The contributors represent an extraordinary range of professional achievements and academic credentials--well-published writers, poets, working artists, educators, academics, mental health practitioners, and health professionals.

* READ THE NOVEL THAT INSPIRED THE FILM PRECIOUS * This 25th Anniversary Edition includes a new preface from Tayari Jones, and a new afterword by the author. This is the story of Precious Jones, a sixteen year old illiterate black girl who has never been out of Harlem. She is pregnant by her own father for the second time, and kicked out of school. Placed in an alternative teaching programme, she learns to read and write. This is Precious's diary, in which she honestly records her relationships and her life. 'The Color Purple for the nineties' Vogue 'Sapphire's vibrant, unindulgent first novel has you cheering the awesome Precious on until the last page' Mail on Sunday 'Has all the power and vehemence of rap...brutal in its defence of the vulnerable' Independent 'Part wishful prayer, part manifesto, mingling poetry and humour...splendid, turbulent, bracing language...its music takes you over, its story grips... A voice to remember' Scotland on Sunday 'Harrowing yet hilarious... packs a powerful punch' Guardian

Borrowing its name from the notorious '60s Ed Sanders magazine, "Fuck You: A Magazine of the Arts," the editors have figured a way to rehone its countercultural and frictional stance with style and aplomb. A unique and provocative anthology of lesbian writing, guaranteed to soothe the soulful and savage the soulless. Contributors: Tanya Barfield, Dodie Bellamy, Adele Bertei, Lisa Beskin, Rebecca Brown, Kelly Cogswell, Dominique Dibbell, Shannon Ebner, Laura Flanders, Eliza Galaher, Marilyn Hacker, Holly Hughes, Lisa Kron, Joan Larkin, Myra Mniewski, Honor Moore, Cynthia Nelson, Madeline Olnek, Nancy Redwine, Julie Regan, Annie Reid, Danine Ricereto, Camille Roy, Sapphire Joan Schenkar, Kathy Lou Schultz, Lucy Sexton, Linda Smukler, Pamela Sneed, Christina Sunley, Carmelita Tropicana, Claudia von Vacano, Laurie Weeks, Debra Weinstein, Joe Westmoreland, Millie Wilson, Linda Yablonsky.

"This June Jordan treasure is a rare piece of fiction from one of America's most vital poets and political essayists--a tender story of young love in the face of generational opposition, a modern-day "Romeo and Juliet" that sings and sways."--Walter Mosley

"There must be bridges if we are to reach our young. His Own Where promises to be one."--"New York Times Book Review" (1971)

Nominated for a National Book Award in 1971, "His Own Where" is the story of Buddy, a fifteen-year-old boy whose world is spinning out of control. He meets Angela, whose angry parents accuse her of being "wild." When life falls apart for Buddy and his father, and when Angela is attacked at home, they take action to create their own way of staying alive in Brooklyn. In the process, the two find refuge in one another and learn that love is real and necessary. "His Own Where" was one of "The New York Times"' Most Outstanding Books and was on the American Library Association's list of Best Books in 1971.

June Jordan was a poet, essayist, journalist, dramatist, activist, and educator known for challenging oppression through her inspirational words and actions. She was the founder of Poetry for the People at the University of California, Berkeley, where she taught for many years. The author of over twenty books, her poetry is collected in "Directed by Desire"; her selected essays in "Some of Us Did Not Die."

Sapphire is the author of "American Dreams," "Black Wings & Blind Angels," and "Push, " which has been made into a motion picture called "Precious."

From the bestselling author of "Push," a story of survival and awakening--and one young man's remarkable strength

"The Kid" brings us deep into the interior life of Abdul Jones, son of Sapphire's unforgettable heroine, Precious. Left alone by his mother's death to navigate in a world where love and hate sometimes hideously masquerade, forced to confront unspeakable violence, his history, and the dark corners of his own heart, Abdul claws his way toward adulthood. In a generational story that moves with the speed of thought from a Mississippi dirt farm to Harlem in its heyday, from a troubled Catholic orphanage to downtown artists' lofts, "The Kid" is a soaring tale of body and spirit, rooted in the hungers of flesh and of the soul.