Remembered Rapture - by Bell Hooks (Paperback)

About the Book

A "passion for words is the heartbeat of this contemplative collection of essays, [which] celebrates literacy, the joys of reading and writing, and the lasting power of the book. These essays once again reveal bell hooks's wide-ranging intellectual scope; if W.E.B. DuBois elegantly dissected the double consciousness of African-Americans, bell hooks, with similar insight and vision, untangles the complex personae of women writers, especially those whose work goes against the grain"--Back cover.

Book Synopsis

"Even though writing is a solitary act, when I sit with words that I trust will be read by someone, I know that I can never be truly alone." --bell hooks, "women who write too much"

In this timeless essay collection on the writing life, award-winning author and renowned thinker bell hooks shares the secrets gleaned from years of facing the blank page, pen in hand.

At a time when the death of the book has been proclaimed, hooks's Remembered Rapture beats with a pulsing passion for words, reminding us of literacy's potency and the vital joys of reading and writing. In contemplative essays infused with her personal experience, hooks reveals her wide-ranging intellectual scope. With insight and vision, hooks untangles the complex personae of women writers, especially those whose work goes against the grain.

This inspiring collection from a treasured American author is for everyone who believes in the power of the written word.

"For anyone who writes, or seeks to understand the writing process, or wants to know more about the erudite and passionate mind of bell hooks, this is the book to read." --The Philadelphia Inquirer

From the Back Cover

Born and raised in the rural South, bell hooks learned early the power of the written word and the importance of speaking her mind. This passion for words is the heartbeat of this contemplative collection of essays. Remembered Rapture celebrates literacy, the joys of reading and writing, and the lasting power of the book. These essays once again reveal bell hooks's wide-ranging intellectual scope; if W. E. B. DuBois elegantly dissected the double consciousness of African-Americans, bell hooks, with similar insight and vision, untangles the complex personae of women writers, especially those whose work goes against the grain.

Review Quotes

"bell hooks reveals the heart of her writing life and the process through which she has come to be known as a 'visionary feminist.'" --Essence

"Each offering from bell hooks is a major event, as she has so much to give us." --Maya Angelou

"hooks infuses the best of these essays with a personal tone that sheds warm light on this particular writer's life." --Publishers Weekly

About the Author

bell hooks (Gloria Jean Watkins, 1952-2021) was a pioneering feminist whose writings revealed how the specific life experiences of Black women were marginalized by the idea that feminism represented all women equally. A professor of English, African and Afro-American studies, American literature, and women's studies, she taught at the University of Southern California, Yale, Oberlin College, City College of New York, and Kentucky's Berea College, which established the bell hooks Institute for her work.

The author of more than thirty books of literary criticism, children's fiction, poetry, and autobiography, including Killing Rage: Ending Racism, Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood, Wounds of Passion: A Writing Life, and Remembered Rapture: The Writer at Work, hooks was nominated for the NAACP Image Award, won an American Book Award, and was named one of Time's 100 Women of the Year in 2020.