Work of a Common Woman: The Collected Poetry of Judy Grahn 1964-1977

by Judy Grahn

Including "A Woman is Talking to Death" and "Edward the Dyke"

Genres: Poetry, Feminism, LGBT, Lesbian, Queer, Gender, Nonfiction

158 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Sarah]

so, so excited to find this at the used bookstore today!!

Here, the sea strains to climb up on the land
and the wind blows dust in a single direction.
The trees bend themselves all one way
and volcanoes explode often
Why is this? Many years back
a woman of strong purpose
passed through this section
and everything else tried to follow.

[Lana Henderson]

One of the most beautiful collections of poetry,I have ever read.Thank you Ani DiFranco!If you can get your hands on a copy,check out Detroit Annie,hitchiking.Amazing.

[Bohemian Bluestocking]

These are very beloved to many. I think people need to speak them out loud with rhythm and beat to really hear them.

[Róisín Prendergast]

Such a haunting and provocative collection of poems. They are going to linger for sure. So many I wish I could memorise. When I say “provocative”, I don’t mean in a way that could be stereotypically or historically aligned with feminism or womanness or lesbianism (all of which these poems fundamentally are) - I mean in the way of them hurting in an intensely dreamlike and sometimes disturbing way that, in my mind, is also independent of the major themes.
These poems hurt (I use “hurt” as a positive word in this sense) not just because of context but because of the language used. Adrienne Rich talks about language in her introduction and the importance of female reclamation, so perhaps I am contradicting myself and the point of Grahn’s poetry. But I tend to experience poetry on a very personal level and go down a dreamy rabbit hole rather than ride a collective wave. Many of the poems felt like I was reading about my Mum as well which was weird, so it felt quite eery when I turned the page to the very last poem and the opening line is “My name is Judith” - (my mums name!!).

[Rachel]

I found Judy Grahn via "A Woman is Talking to Death" in Poems From the Women's Movement, which is a generally excellent collection that introduced me to a great number of excellent poets, and I've been working my way through the books of my favorites. My library system doesn't have much by Judy Grahn, so I finally figured out archive.org in order to read her stuff (much easier than I was afraid, highly recommend for anyone who, like me, is into niche, out of print stuff).

The Work of a Common Woman is a similarly exceptional collection. One of the great joys of a collection that covers a span of time is to see the way an author's style and themes develop, and watching that development from "Edward the Dyke" to "A Woman is Talking to Death" and "Confrontations with the Devil in the Form of Love" is a revelation. Grahn's skill and power is visible from the first to the last. The Work of a Common Woman is a joy and a revelation.

[Julene]

Read this long ago, a deeply moving book that encouraged me to write to make a difference.

[Bob Marcacci]

I found this book as a young student, perhaps after seeing Grahn read somewhere. The beginnings of what I see now as a longer breath in a poem, the slim volume contains a few sequenced collections. Inventive, playful reclamation of language.

[Jennifer]

Sucks that stuff written before I was born is still timely.

[casey vieira]

cried like the whole time basically

[rachel]

i wish i read this when i was 19 and still a lesbian i just know it would have hit way harder. not bad though

[tilly]

My low rating is really no indication of the quality or significance of this work: this is just a style of poetry that I don’t get along with.

[Marjorie Jensen]

As a queer, working-class, Oakland-based, Adrienne-Rich-loving poet, I can't believe I haven't read Judy Grahn's poetry before now. So much language in this book spoke directly to me, from Rich's stellar introduction ("for women, the devil has most often taken the form of love rather than of power, gold or learning") to the Common Woman poems ("the common woman is as common as the best of bread / and will rise / and will become strong--I swear it to you"), to the conversations with death ("death, do you tell me I cannot touch this woman? / if we use each other up / on each other / that's a little bit less for you"), to the very last lines in the collection ("until then, my sweethearts, / let us speak simply of / romance, which is so much / easier and so much less / than any of us deserve").

Overall, a powerful and beautiful book. And this is the second book Goodreads has recommended that I've liked, so good job, Goodreads!

[Abby]

we are the fat of the land, and
we all have our list of casualties

to my lovers I bequeath
the rest of my life

I want nothing left of me for you, ho death
except some fertilizer
for the next batch of us
who do not hold hands with you
who do not embrace you
who try not to work for you
or sacrifice themselves or trust
or believe you, ho ignorant
death, how do you know
we happened to you?

wherever our meat hangs on our own bones
for our own use
your pot is so empty
death, ho death
you shall be poor


<3333

[Ona]

i have read this book from 1997 onward. Her internal rhyme, has soaked into my own writing. I love Grahn like I love Rich. I respect them both immensely and often find that any piece of my writing exists as an answer to what they have already offered. i just discovered that i have lost my first edition of this book with all of the notes i have written over the years. what a bummer.

[Lindsey]

something about this book....A Woman Is Talking To Death....i find more in it every single time i pick it up. i don't necessarily even think it's the best poetry there ever was. but many of the poems touch me very deeply.

[Colelea]

Probably my absolute favorite poetry book ever. And I am a poet. Love Jundy Grahn and this is an amazing book.

[Roxanne]

I have probably owned this book for a dozen years, grabbed up in the throes of coming out and discovering lesbians write books!

Moving, slippery and sometimes painful.

[Jesse]

amazing raw poetry, powerful and amazing.

[Catherine]

lesbian feminism

[Miami University Libraries]

King Library (2nd floor) | PS3557.R226 W6 1980

Renate Seiwert read selections from this collection at the 2010 Women's Read-In

[Melissa Fletcher]

Essential reading!

[l]

Adrienne Rich's intro is great.

Favs: Marilyn Monroe, Detroit Annie hitchhiking, the wolf spider, plainsong from a younger woman, a woman is talking,