Talking Back

In childhood, bell hooks was taught that talking back meant speaking as an equal to an authority figure and daring to disagree and/or have an opinion. In this collection of personal and theoretical essays, hooks reflects on her signature issues of racism and feminism, politics and pedagogy. Among her discoveries is that moving from silence into speech is for the oppressed, the colonized, the exploited, and those who stand and struggle side by side, a gesture of defiance that heals, making new life and new growth possible.

bell hooks was a Distinguished Professor in Residence in Appalachian Studies at Berea College. Born Gloria Jean Watkins in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, she chose the lower case pen name bell hooks, based on the names of her mother and grandmother, to emphasize the importance of the substance of her writing as opposed to who she was. A writer and critic, hooks was the author of more than thirty books, many of which have focused on issues of social class, race, and gender. Among her many books are the feminist classic Ain't I a Woman, the dialogue Breaking Bread (with Cornel West), the children's book Happy to Be Nappy, the memoir Bone Black, and Art on My Mind: Visual Politics (The New Press). She lived in Berea, Kentucky.

• Publisher: ‎Routledge; 2nd edition (November 3, 2014)
• Language: ‎English
• Paperback: ‎208 pages
• ISBN-10: ‎9781138821736
• ISBN-13: ‎9781138821736
• Item Weight: ‎8.8 ounces
• Dimensions: ‎5.4 x 0.4 x 8.4 inches