Confessions of a (Female) Chauvinist

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Summary: Rosemary Daniell's latest book
Review: Ms. Daniell shares her world in down to earth essays. She puts her reader on the scene as she takes the reader on a trip through her adventures as a bold Southern woman, anxious to taste new experiences. Her languge is honest, concrete, and sometimes shocking. Lisbeth J. Thom

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Summary: Rosemary is a damn ace!
Review: Nowhere else will you find the compelling honesty in writing that you do in Rosemary Daniell's. She's direct, to the point, and knows how to touch the reader's emotional core. If you desire real writing, with themes and visceral values attached to it, read this latest collection of Rosemary's writings. It makes me want to sneak away to a desert island with her and have her tell me these stories personally!

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Summary: Couageous and ground-breaking
Review: The book is a newly released collection of articles and essays written by Danielle and ranging in date from 1970 to 2000. I was privileged to see Rosemary at Charis Bookstore in Little Five Points (Atlanta) and hear her read a selection from the book. Unlike other authors I have met at book signings and other public functions, Danielle took time to ask the names of those attending and encouraged them to speak about their own work. The topics in "Confessions of a (female) Chauvinist deal mostly with women and women's rights (with the focus on Southern Women) but covers subjects as diverse as how to snag a man, to addiction and suicide, to murder, to balancing the life of artist and mother, to legal issues involving slander. The overriding theme throughout the book is Rosemary's struggle to -- and encouragement of others to-- break free from the societal expectations of women and become the person you were meant to be. The pieces in the collection are often poignant but just as often written with humor. I found it reassuring that Rosemary managed/manages to be a feminist while remaining feminine. I was particularly fascinated with the piece about her relationship with the famous author, James Dickey...I thank The Writing Gods for writers/teachers/mentors like Rosemary and would encourage both men and women to read the book.

Rating:
Summary: Couageous and ground-breaking
Review: While all the pieces in this book are exciting to the contemporary female reader ,in Daniell's signature piece, "The Deer Who Loved to be Hunted: a Reflection on James Dickey's Women", she delineates power relationships between men and women using her own relationship with her former mentor and lover, poet James Dickey. As an example, along with in depth interviews and reflections of the experiences of a number of other women who were a part of the late poet's life, another interesting-and recent-essay is "I Wrote about Sex and Got Called a Whore": in this piece, Daniell describes the libel suit she brought against the BOMC, which was successfully settled in her favor. In the piece she describes, why she considered pursuing this lawsuit a strongly feminist endeavor: indeed, she raises the question, "Would a male writer ever be called a gigolo because he had written honestly about sexuality?" This is one of the most inspiring books I've ever read!