Re-Sisters - by Cosey Fanni Tutti

Book Synopsis

From the acclaimed author of Art
Sex Music comes a vital meditation on womanhood, creativity and
self-expression, and a revelatory exploration into the lives of three visionary
artists.

"A fascinating tale of the
interlinking lives of three legendary trailblazers."
SALENA GODDEN

"Re-sisters emanates an
enthralling power."
JUDE ROGERS, MOJO

"Cosey Fanni Tutti has lived the
life and has the stories to tell: not just hers, but those of two other still
unheralded female pioneers."
JON SAVAGE

Myself, Delia and Margery -- a trinity of the sacred and profane, sinners and saints of a kind.

Re-sisters is the story of three women consumed by their passion for life, a passion they expressed through music, art and lifestyle -- their recordings.

In 2018, boundary-breaking visual and sonic artist Cosey Fanni Tutti received a commission to write the soundtrack to a film about Delia Derbyshire, the pioneering electronic composer who influenced the likes of Aphex Twin and The Chemical Brothers. While researching Derbyshire's life, Tutti became immersed in her story and uncovered fascinating parallels with her own life. At the same time, Tutti began reading about Margery Kempe, the fifteenth-century mystic visionary who wrote the first English-language autobiography. The connections between the three women soon shifted into focus.

Each lived on the fringes of a world dictated by patriarchal forces; each relentlessly pursued the expansion and enrichment of their life through their creative work. Undaunted by the consequences they faced and unwilling to conform to the societal and cultural norms of their time, they are united by an unwavering commitment to their sense of self.

Review Quotes

"Cosey Fanni Tutti has lived the
life and has the stories to tell: not just hers, but those of two other still
unheralded female pioneers." ― Jon Savage

"Sparked by coincidence and
fuelled by strong feelings of like-mindedness, Cosey Fanni Tutti inhabits the
lives of two famously iconoclastic women, Delia Derbyshire and Margery Kempe,
clearly identifying them as both kindred spirits and profound sources of
inspiration, and vividly blending their stories with her own. The result is
pure Cosey Fanni Tutti: passionate, original, and fiercely defiant." ― Rupert
Thomson

"Awe-inspiring. This book is for
anybody who wants to discover the work of three women who, without fanfare,
have enriched our world." ― Robert Wyatt

"An impeccably researched
meditation on womanhood as viewed through the lives of three firebrand." ― Fiona Sturges, Guardian

"Never self-serving, always full
of active curiosity about the ways distant artists compel and ignite us . . .
Re-sisters emanates an enthralling power." ― Jude Rogers, MOJO

"This engaging entwining of lives
is about defying your place as a woman, the freedom to define yourself, and
preserving yourself among stultifying societal norms and patriarchal
belittlement and aggressions . . . Ultimately, what comes through, and is truly
inspiring, is strength of character, strength of creativity - true fortitude,
no least in the face of trauma . . . They all transcend those experiences and
are truly alive in this book." ― Katrina Dixon, The Wire

"Re-sisters digs up narratives of
guile and wiliness, tales of flying under the radar, and emerges with a whole
cryptology of female artistic liberation. My recommendation: get it, read it,
hear it." ― Louder than War

"In her fascinating new book she
tells the story of Derbyshire and Kempe, while also revealing how they have
informed her own life. A straight up and down biography of Derbyshire - or Kemp
- would have made more sense, but Fanni Tutti has never done straight up and
down and I, for one, was enthralled." ― The Crack