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Forty-Three Septembers: Essays
A collection of autobiographical essays about identity, the author's family, growing up and growing older, and related topics
196 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1993
2 people are currently reading
221 people want to read
About the author
Jewelle Gomez
50 books276 followersJewelle Gomez (b. 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American writer and cultural worker.
Gomez was raised by her great grandmother, Grace, who was born on Indian land in Iowa to an African American mother and Ioway father. Grace returned to New England before she was 14 when her father died and was married to John E. Morandus, a Wampanoag and descendent of Massasoit, the sachem for whom Massachusetts was named.
Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s she was shaped socially and politically by the close family ties with her great grandmother, Grace and grandmother Lydia. Their history of independence as well as marginalization in an African American community are threaded throughout her work. Her high school and college years were ripe with Black political and social movements which is reflected in much of her writing. Subsequent years in New York City placed her at the heart of Black theatre including work with the Frank Silvera Writers Workshop and many years as a stage manager for off Broadway productions.
There she became involved in lesbian feminist activism and magazine publication. She was a member of the Conditions (magazine) Collective, a lesbian feminist literary magazine. More recent writing has begun to reflect her Native American (Ioway, Wampanoag) heritage. Her work lives at the intersection of these multiple ethnicities, the ideals of lesbian/feminism and class.
Gomez is the author of seven books, but is most known for the double Lambda Literary Award winning novel The Gilda Stories (Firebrand Books, 1991). This novel, which reframes the traditional vampire mythology, taking a lesbian feminist perspective, is an adventure about an escaped slave who comes of age over two hundred years. According to scholar, Elyce Rae Helford, "Each stage of Gilda's personal voyage is also a study of life as part of multiple communities, all at the margins of mainstream white middle-class America." (UTOPIAN STUDIES, 3.22.01)
She also authored the theatrical adaptation of the novel Bones and Ash which toured 13 U.S. cities performed by the Urban Bush Women Company (1996). The book, which remains in print, was also issued by the Quality Paperback Book Club in an edition including the play.
Her other books include Don't Explain , a collection of short fiction; 43 Septembers , a collection of personal/political essays; Oral Tradition , poems collected and new.
Her fiction and poetry is included in over one hundred anthologies including the first anthology of Black speculative fiction, Dark Matter: A Century of African American Speculative Fiction , from Warner Books, edited by Sheree R. Thomas; Home Girls: a Black feminist Anthology from Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press and Best American Poetry of 2001 edited by Robert Haas.
Gomez has written literary and film criticism for numerous publications including The Village Voice, The San Francisco Chronicle, Ms. Magazine and Black Scholar.
She's been interviewed in periodicals and journals over the past 25 years including Advocate, where writer Victoria Brownworth discussed her writing origins and political interests (September 21, 1993). In the Journal of Lesbian Studies (Vol. 5, #3) she was interviewed for an article entitled "Funding Lesbian Activism," which linked her career in philanthropy with her political roots. She's also interviewed in the 1999 film produced for Public Television, After Stonewall, directed by John Scagliotti.
Her newest work includes a forthcoming comic novel, Televised, which recounts the lives of survivors of the Black Nationalist movement and was excerpted in the anthology Gumbo edited by Marita Golden and E. Lyn Harris.
She is also authoring a play about James Baldwin being written in collaboration with Harry Wate
Gomez was raised by her great grandmother, Grace, who was born on Indian land in Iowa to an African American mother and Ioway father. Grace returned to New England before she was 14 when her father died and was married to John E. Morandus, a Wampanoag and descendent of Massasoit, the sachem for whom Massachusetts was named.
Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s she was shaped socially and politically by the close family ties with her great grandmother, Grace and grandmother Lydia. Their history of independence as well as marginalization in an African American community are threaded throughout her work. Her high school and college years were ripe with Black political and social movements which is reflected in much of her writing. Subsequent years in New York City placed her at the heart of Black theatre including work with the Frank Silvera Writers Workshop and many years as a stage manager for off Broadway productions.
There she became involved in lesbian feminist activism and magazine publication. She was a member of the Conditions (magazine) Collective, a lesbian feminist literary magazine. More recent writing has begun to reflect her Native American (Ioway, Wampanoag) heritage. Her work lives at the intersection of these multiple ethnicities, the ideals of lesbian/feminism and class.
Gomez is the author of seven books, but is most known for the double Lambda Literary Award winning novel The Gilda Stories (Firebrand Books, 1991). This novel, which reframes the traditional vampire mythology, taking a lesbian feminist perspective, is an adventure about an escaped slave who comes of age over two hundred years. According to scholar, Elyce Rae Helford, "Each stage of Gilda's personal voyage is also a study of life as part of multiple communities, all at the margins of mainstream white middle-class America." (UTOPIAN STUDIES, 3.22.01)
She also authored the theatrical adaptation of the novel Bones and Ash which toured 13 U.S. cities performed by the Urban Bush Women Company (1996). The book, which remains in print, was also issued by the Quality Paperback Book Club in an edition including the play.
Her other books include Don't Explain , a collection of short fiction; 43 Septembers , a collection of personal/political essays; Oral Tradition , poems collected and new.
Her fiction and poetry is included in over one hundred anthologies including the first anthology of Black speculative fiction, Dark Matter: A Century of African American Speculative Fiction , from Warner Books, edited by Sheree R. Thomas; Home Girls: a Black feminist Anthology from Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press and Best American Poetry of 2001 edited by Robert Haas.
Gomez has written literary and film criticism for numerous publications including The Village Voice, The San Francisco Chronicle, Ms. Magazine and Black Scholar.
She's been interviewed in periodicals and journals over the past 25 years including Advocate, where writer Victoria Brownworth discussed her writing origins and political interests (September 21, 1993). In the Journal of Lesbian Studies (Vol. 5, #3) she was interviewed for an article entitled "Funding Lesbian Activism," which linked her career in philanthropy with her political roots. She's also interviewed in the 1999 film produced for Public Television, After Stonewall, directed by John Scagliotti.
Her newest work includes a forthcoming comic novel, Televised, which recounts the lives of survivors of the Black Nationalist movement and was excerpted in the anthology Gumbo edited by Marita Golden and E. Lyn Harris.
She is also authoring a play about James Baldwin being written in collaboration with Harry Wate
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 24, 2014
i became familiar with jewelle gomez as i sat in an auditorium watching a panel discuss octavia butler and afrofuturism at spelman college. she was rather unassuming and self assured as she fielded questions. there was an incident she told us about. she spoke softly she retold her response to a criticism about her choice to write about lesbian social activist vampire. she simply stated, "you have to trust that i know what i am doing. i can create a new mythology. one that is reflected of my own experience." at that moment i asked myself what made this woman tick. what events transpired in her life to have the courage to say, believe, and execute her fiction? lo and behold in forty-three septembers gomez chronicles the very things, people, and experiences that lead to sitting on that panel being as accomplished and honest as anyone i have ever met. to read these essays is to meet jewelle gomez. welcome her into your life. embrace the idea. a person only has so many septembers in a lifetime. learn what she did with a few of hers and decide what to do with the rest of yours.
(and revisit the color purple. because september was important to shug avery too)
(and revisit the color purple. because september was important to shug avery too)
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July 27, 2008Jewelle Gomez rocks. From page 76: “After I finished The Gilda Stories I was faced with the question confronting many first novelists: what to do with the remaining typewriter ribbons. I was terrified I'd spend the rest of my career writing pieces with titles like “Feminist Performance in the Year 2000—Art or Fad,” or the already used “Lesbian Chic.” My dilemma is intensified by the fact that I still feel young or new to all of this—writing, living, loving. I have only one novel, no academic appointments, no New York Times reviews, no movie contract. I don't feel blasé about anything I've ever accomplished. I still feel passionate about the commitment to social change I made thirty years ago. This is my blood.”
August 2, 2013
I really enjoyed reading her thoughts on her life and how she is connected in the world. It's important to read about people's experiences that reflect your location. Jewell Gomez is so different from me but her background of Black lesbian writer/artist is important to my background as Black queer/lesbian who is most definitely not an artist. I enjoyed her analysis of black communities response or lack thereof to LGBT folks in the communities. I also appreciated her isolation as a form of censorship for black writers and black LGBT writers. Honestly this is a must buy for me. I believe that this book will offer me different insight on life at different points in my life. I'm just sorry it took me so long to finish reading it.
October 4, 2007
I read this when I was 17, and struggling with my identity and its consequences. This book helped me out of a lot of confusion and anger.
July 7, 2011
Her personal stories, mixed in with serious analysis and criticism, and still pertinent and resounds today.
April 21, 2017
I loved this book. I especially enjoyed her musings about the importance of literature, and the connection she makes between coming-out stories as a genre with the oral tradition of slave narratives. Wish I had read this sooner.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews