Most Popular Books by bell hooks

''Simply put, feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression.'' So begins Feminism is for Everybody, a short, accessible introduction to feminist theory by one of its liveliest and most influential practitioners. Designed to be read by all genders, this book provides both a primer to the question ''what is feminism?'' and an argument for the enduring importance of the feminist movement today.Beginning with a broad survey of feminism''s most important themes and concerns, bell hooks demystifies contentious concepts and turns apparent ideology into common sense. Providing a critical evaluation of the successes and failures of contemporary feminism, she looks at a wide variety of topics including reproductive rights, sexual violence, race, class and work. hooks encourages us to demand alternatives to patriarchal, racist and homophobic culture and thereby to seek out a different future.

bell hooks writes about the meaning of feminist consciousness in daily life and about self-recovery, about overcoming white and male supremacy, and about intimate relationships, exploring the point where the public and private meet.

In the critical essays collected in Black Looks, bell hooks interrogates old narratives and argues for alternative ways to look at blackness, black subjectivity, and whiteness. Her focus is on spectatorship—in particular, the way blackness and black people are experienced in literature, music, television, and especially film—and her aim is to create a radical intervention into the way we talk about race and representation. As she describes: "the essays in Black Looks are meant to challenge and unsettle, to disrupt and subvert." As students, scholars, activists, intellectuals, and any other readers who have engaged with the book since its original release in 1992 can attest, that''s exactly what these pieces do.

Combining critical thinking about education with autobiographical narratives, hooks invites readers to extend the discourse of race, gender, class and nationality beyond the classroom into everyday situations of learning.

Controversial and polemical, this work targets cultural icons as diverse as Madonna and Spike Lee, and presents a collection of feminist explorations that pulls no punches.

A classic work of feminist scholarship, Ain''t I a Woman has become a must-read for all those interested in the nature of black womanhood. Examining the impact of sexism on black women during slavery, the devaluation of black womanhood, black male sexism, racism among feminists, and the black woman''s involvement with feminism, hooks attempts to move us beyond racist and sexist assumptions. The result is nothing short of groundbreaking, giving this book a critical place on every feminist scholar''s bookshelf.

For bell hooks, the best cultural criticism sees no need to separate politics from the pleasure of reading. Yearning collects together some of hooks''s classic and early pieces of cultural criticism from the ''80s. Addressing topics like pedagogy, postmodernism, and politics, hooks examines a variety of cultural artifacts, from Spike Lee''s film Do the Right Thing and Wim Wenders''s film Wings of Desire to the writings of Zora Neale Hurston and Toni Morrison. The result is a poignant collection of essays which, like all of hooks''s work, is above all else concerned with transforming oppressive structures of domination.

"The word "love" is most often defined as a noun, yet...we would all love to better if we used it as a verb," writes bell hooks as she comes out fighting and on fire in All About Love. Here, at her most provacative and intensely personel, the renowned scholar, cultural critic, and feminist skewers our view of love as romance. In its place she offers a proactive new ethic for a people and a society bereft with lovelessness. As bell hooks uses her incisive mind and razor-sharp pen to explode th question "What is love?" her answers strike at both the mind and heart. In thirteen concise chapters, hooks examines her own search for emotional connection and society''s failure to provide a model for learning to love. Razing the cultural paradigm that the ideal love is infused with sex and desire, she provides a new path to love that is sacred, redemptive, and healing for the individuals and for a nation. The Utne Reader declared bell hooks one of the "100 Visionaries Who Can Change Your Life." All About Love is a powerful affirmation of just how profoundly she can.

Contains chapters on Zora Neale Hurston, Emily Dickinson, Ann Petry, Lorraine Hansberry, and Toni Morrison.

Feminist icon bell hooks reminds us of the full spectrum of feeling we spend in love through her inspiring collection of love poetry, with a new introduction by Cole Arthur Riley, author of Black Liturgies. Written from the heart, When Angels Speak of Love is a book of fifty love poems by bell hooks, one our most beloved public intellectuals, and author of over twenty books, including the bestselling All About Love. Poem after poem, hooks challenges our views and experiences with love—tracing the links between seduction and surrender, the intensity of desire, and the anguish of death. “Love must clean house, choose memories to keep, and memories to let go,” she writes. These verses are expansive yet accessible—encompassing romantic love, to love of family, friends, or oneself. In any iteration, these poems remind us of both the beauty and possibility of love.

What are the conditions needed for our nation to bridge cultural and racial divides? By "writing beyond race," noted cultural critic bell hooks models the constructive ways scholars, activists, and readers can challenge and change systems of domination. In the spirit of previous classics like Outlaw Culture and Reel to Real, this new collection of compelling essays interrogates contemporary cultural notions of race, gender, and class. From the films Precious and Crash to recent biographies of Malcolm X and Henrietta Lacks, hooks offers provocative insights into the way race is being talked about in this "post-racial" era.

In Sisters of the Yam, bell hooks reflects on the ways in which the emotional health of black women has been and continues to be impacted by sexism and racism. Desiring to create a context where black females could both work on their individual efforts for self-actualization while remaining connected to a larger world of collective struggle, hooks articulates the link between self-recovery and political resistance. Both an expression of the joy of self-healing and the need to be ever vigilant in the struggle for equality, Sisters of the Yam continues to speak to the experience of black womanhood.

First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

One of our country’s premier cultural and social critics, bell hooks has always maintained that eradicating racism and eradicating sexism must go hand in hand. But whereas many women have been recognized for their writing on gender politics, the female voice has been all but locked out of the public discourse on race. Killing Rage speaks to this imbalance. These twenty-three essays are written from a black and feminist perspective, and they tackle the bitter difficulties of racism by envisioning a world without it. They address a spectrum of topics having to do with race and racism in the United States: psychological trauma among African Americans; friendship between black women and white women; anti-Semitism and racism; and internalized racism in movies and the media. And in the title essay, hooks writes about the “killing rage”—the fierce anger of black people stung by repeated instances of everyday racism—finding in that rage a healing source of love and strength and a catalyst for positive change. bell hooks is Distinguished Professor of English at City College of New York. She is the author of the memoir Bone Black as well as eleven other books. She lives in New York City.

In Teaching Critical Thinking, renowned cultural critic and progressive educator bell hooks addresses some of the most compelling issues facing teachers in and out of the classroom today. In a series of short, accessible, and enlightening essays, hooks explores the confounding and sometimes controversial topics that teachers and students have urged her to address since the publication of the previous best-selling volumes in her Teaching series, Teaching to Transgress and Teaching Community. The issues are varied and broad, from whether meaningful teaching can take place in a large classroom setting to confronting issues of self-esteem. One professor, for example, asked how black female professors can maintain positive authority in a classroom without being seen through the lens of negative racist, sexist stereotypes. One teacher asked how to handle tears in the classroom, while another wanted to know how to use humor as a tool for learning. Addressing questions of race, gender, and class in this work, hooks discusses the complex balance that allows us to teach, value, and learn from works written by racist and sexist authors. Highlighting the importance of reading, she insists on the primacy of free speech, a democratic education of literacy. Throughout these essays, she celebrates the transformative power of critical thinking. This is provocative, powerful, and joyful intellectual work. It is a must read for anyone who is at all interested in education today.

First Published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

From legendary author and critic bell hooks and multi-Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka comes a new way to talk about race and identity that will appeal to parents of the youngest readers. The skin I''m in is just a covering. It cannot tell my story. If you want to know who I am, you have got to come inside and open your heart way wide. Race matters, but only so much--what''s most important is who we are on the inside. Looking beyond skin, going straight to the heart, we find in each other the treasures stored down deep. Learning to cherish those treasures, to be all we imagine ourselves to be, makes us free. This award-winning book, celebrates all that makes us unique and different and offers a strong, timely and timeless message of loving yourself and others.

"With a thoughtful introduction by Mikki Kendall, it will remind you why she was loved, honored, challenged and respected." - Ms. Magazine “This new collection is essential reading for both longtime readers of hooks and new fans seeking to learn more about her groundbreaking contributions to cultural and intellectual movements.” - Electric Lit "Wide-ranging and insightful, this makes for a solid primer on hooks’s ideas." --Publishers Weekly "I will not have my life narrowed down. I will not bow down to somebody else''s whim or to someone else''s ignorance." —bell hooks bell hooks was a prolific, trailblazing author, feminist, social activist, cultural critic, and professor. Born Gloria Jean Watkins, bell used her pen name to center attention on her ideas and to honor her courageous great-grandmother, Bell Blair Hooks. hooks’s unflinching dedication to her work carved deep grooves for the feminist and anti-racist movements. In this collection of 7 interviews, stretching from early in her career until her last interview, she discusses feminism, the complexity of rap music and masculinity, her relationship to Buddhism, the “politic of domination,” sexuality, and love and the importance of communication across cultural borders. Whether she was sparking controversy on campuses or facing criticism from contemporaries, hooks relentlessly challenged herself and those around her, inserted herself into the tensions of the cultural moment, and anchored herself with love.

In ''Reel to Real'', Hooks enhances our visual experience of movies, enabling us to see in a new way. Her work, like the best films of our time, provokes thought and creates a context for dialogue.

What does it mean to call a place home? Who is allowed to become a member of a community? How do we create community? When can we say that we truly belong? The issues of place and belonging are the subject of this book. Moving from past to present, the author charts a journey in which she moves from place to place, from country to city and back again, only to end where she began in her native place, Kentucky. She explores a geography of the heart, focusing on issues of homeplace, of land, and land stewardship, linking the issues to global environmentalism and sustainability. She writes about family and the ties that bind. And she focuses on the experience of black farmers, past and present who celebrate local organic food production. This work offers a vision of a world where all people, wherever they call home, can live fully and well, and where everyone can belong.

A collection of poems centered around life in Appalachia addresses topics ranging from the marginalization of the region''s people to the environmental degradation it has endured throughout history.

First published in 1994. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Everyone needs to love and be loved -- even men. But to know love, men must be able to look at the ways that patriarchal culture keeps them from knowing themselves, from being in touch with their feelings, from loving. In The Will to Change, bell hooks gets to the heart of the matter and shows men how to express the emotions that are a fundamental part of who they are -- whatever their age, marital status, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. With trademark candor and fierce intelligence, hooks addresses the most common concerns of men, such as fear of intimacy and loss of their patriarchal place in society, in new and challenging ways. She believes men can find the way to spiritual unity by getting back in touch with the emotionally open part of themselves -- and lay claim to the rich and rewarding inner lives that have historically been the exclusive province of women. A brave and astonishing work, The Will to Change is designed to help men reclaim the best part of themselves.

A feminist thinker and author writes not a chronological narrative of her life but a series of impressions as the young girl that she was became aware of segregation, civil rights, family ties, spirituality, and her own sexuality. 30,000 first printing.

From legendary author and critic bell hooks and multi-Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka comes a fresh look at bad moods, perfect for fans of Grumpy Monkey and The Pout Pout Fish. Here''s a positive way to face our bad, grumpy, and wild moods! Acclaimed writer bell hooks offers a vision of calm with a soothingly rhythmic text, while award-winning artist Chris Raschka''s vibrant art adds a healthy dose of compassion and humor, reminding readers that sometimes you just have to go inside and let it slide.

From the late feminist icon and New York Times bestselling author of All About Love, an in-depth look at one of the most critical issues facing Black Americans: a collective wounded self-esteem that has prevailed from slavery to the present day, with a new introduction by Tressie McMillan Cottom, author of Thick. Why do so many Black Americans—whether privileged or poor, urban or suburban, young or old—live in a state of chronic anxiety, fear, and shame? Rock My Soul: Black People and Self-Esteem breaks through collective denial and dares to imagine a more liberatory framework for understanding “self and identity in a world where loss is commonplace.” With visionary insight, hooks exposes the underlying reality that it has been difficult—if not impossible—for our nation to create a culture that promotes and sustains healthy self-esteem. Without self-esteem people begin to lose their sense of agency. They feel powerless. But it is never too late for any of us to acquire the healthy self-esteem that is needed for a fulfilling life. While originally written in 2002, hooks’ insights into the heart and soul of the Black American identity crisis continue to ring true. Through history, pop culture criticism, and hard-won wisdom, hooks writes about what it takes to heal the scars of the past, promote and maintain self-esteem, and lay down the roots for a truly grounded sense of community and collectivity. Moving beyond the ways historical racial justice movements have failed, hooks also identifies diverse psychological barriers and collective traumas keeping us from well-being. In highlighting the roles of desegregation, education, the absence of progressive parenting, spiritual crisis, or fundamental breakdowns in communication between Black women and men, bell hooks identifies mental health as a revolutionary frontier—and provides guidance for healing within the Black community.

The canonical work of cultural criticism by the “profoundly influential critic” (Artnet), in a beautiful thirtieth-anniversary edition, featuring a new foreword by esteemed visual artist Mickalene Thomas “Sharp and persuasive.” —The New York Times Book Review on the original publication of Art on My Mind In Art on My Mind, “one of the country’s most influential feminist thinkers“ (Artforum) offers a tender yet potent suite of writings for a world increasingly concerned with art and identity politics. This collection of bell hooks’s essays, each with art at its center, explores both the obvious and obscure: from ruminations on the fraught representation of Black bodies, to reflections on the creative processes of women artists, to analysis of the use of blood in visual art. bell hooks has been “instrumental in cracking open the white, western canon for Black artists” (Artnet), with searing essays complemented by conversations with Carrie Mae Weems, Emma Amos, Margo Humphrey, and LaVerne Wells-Bowie. Featuring full-color artwork from giants such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Lorna Simpson, and Alison Saar, Art on My Mind “examines the way race, sex and class shape who makes art, how it sells and who values it” (The New York Times), while questioning how art can be instrumental for Black liberation. In doing so, hooks urges us to unravel the forces of oppression that colonize our imaginations. With a new foreword from acclaimed contemporary artist Mickalene Thomas, this thirtieth-anniversary edition passes the torch to a new generation of artists, capturing hooks’s simple yet evergreen affirmation: art matters—it is a life force in the struggle for freedom. Art on My Mind is essential reading for anyone looking to find lessons on liberation and creativity in the world of color—the free world of art.

“When truth teller and careful writer bell hooks offers a book, I like to be standing at the bookshop when it opens.” –Maya Angelou Renowned visionary bell hooks explored the meaning of love in American culture with the critically acclaimed bestseller All About Love: New Visions. She continued her national dialogue with the bestselling Salvation: Black People and Love. Now hooks culminates her triumphant trilogy of love with Communion: The Female Search for Love. Intimate, revealing, provocative, Communion challenges every woman to courageously claim the search for love as the heroic journey we must all choose to be truly free. In her trademark commanding and lucid language, hooks explores the ways ideas about women and love were changed by the feminist movement, by women''s full participation in the workforce, and by the culture of self-help, and reveals how women of all ages can bring love into every aspect of their lives, for all the years of their lives. Communion is the heart-to-heart talk every woman -- mother, daughter, friend, and lover -- needs to have.

"I be boy. All bliss boy. All fine beat. All beau boy. Beautiful." Famed author bell hooks infuses a sparse and joyous text with the essence and energy of what it means to be a boy-- all boy. Chris Raschka''s sentient illustrations buzz with a force that is the perfect match for this powerful poetry.

Illustrated by Shane W. Evans. Famed feminist, social critic and author bell hooks brings us a soothing and reassuring rhythmical text that explores the unique and unconditional bond between parents and their child. Shane Evans''s whimsical illustrations, featuring an exuberant little girl loving and being loved by her parents in a cosy and secure atmosphere, are the perfect partner for Ms. hooks''s words. Ages 4-8.

From famed African American feminist, social critic, and adult author, bell hooks, and award-winning author and illustrator Chris Raschka, comes a new board book edition of Happy to Be Nappy, a celebration of the beauty and joy of "nappy" hair redesigned with block type for easier reading.

Acclaimed visionary and intellectual bell hooks began her exploration of the meaning of love in American culture with the bestselling All About Love: New Visions. Here she continues her love song to the nation in the groundbreaking and soul-stirring Salvation: Black People and Love. Whether talking about the legacy of slavery, relationships and marriage in Black life, the prose and poetry of our most revered artists and leaders, the liberation movements of the 1950s, ''60s, and ''70s, or hip-hop and gangsta rap culture, hooks lets us know what love''s got to do with it. Salvation is work that helps us heal -- and shows us how to create beloved American communities.

With her customary boldness and insight, bell hooks describes a woman''s struggle to devote herself to writing, sharing the difficulties, the triumphs, the pleasures, and the dangers.

Hooks and West share roots in the black church, and have a commitment to the life of the mind and feminism. This book takes the form of a dialog that explores diverse aspects of modern African American culture: the spiritual crisis in the black community; conservatism among the black middle class; the new black nationalism; depictions of African Americans in popular culture; and uses of black icons by modern political leaders. Of particular interest are their discussions of gender and politics; and their hope that their own intellectual engagement can serve as a model for new kinds of relationships between black men and women. ISBN 0-89608-415-9: $25.00.

Poetry celebrating the way in which African Americans celebrate the passing of the spirit.

Sisterhood is powerful, yet so is competition and antagonism between women. In Soul "Sister" bell hooks asks why, now that feminism has begun to make inroads in so many spheres, women seem more hostile and less understanding of each other; and what, if anything, feminists should do about this crisis. In "Soul Sister," hooks considers the causes for increased tension between women ??? including widening economic gaps, persistent racism, and homophobia ??? and shows how the media plays a role in creating divisions between women. She also suggests strategies for reconciliation, and proposes ways to increase harmony and acceptance. Like most of hooks'' more recent titles on love and relationships, "Soul Sister "is conversational, direct, powerful, spiritual and written for a multiracial audience. Praise for bell hooks: "It''s obvious that in all of hooks'' forthright works, from her stunning memoirs to her seminal works on race, gender, art, and education, that for her writing is a moral act." - "Library Journal" "As astute, intrepid cultural critic hooks so eloquently observes, the inner lives of African Americans have been given short shrift in the annals of psychology???so cogent is hooks'' thinking, so clarifying her language, that to read her is to set out on the path toward healing." -"Booklist" "The only woman in recent years who is readily identified as a member of that select group known as ''black public intellectuals.''"-"New York Times Book Review"