Review: Imagining Ourselves, a project by Paula Goldman

A couple days ago I decided to check this book out at the library. I judged the book by its cover art and decided to take it home. Blasphemous. I know.

I liked the font.

But when I opened it, I was in for a “wow, that’s cool” surprise. The inside reminded me of Mia Kirshner’s I Live Here. Not just print. Mixed media. Paintings. Collages. Comic strips. The Works.

The inside is personal. Every page (or two pages) is a work of a different girl around the world who shares a part of her life. Um…that sounds uninterestingly vague…but trust me it’s not.

I am 25 years old,

and I tell stories and lies -

I’ve lost my youth and two men I’ve loved,

I’ve lost most my mother tounge,

I’ve lost or given up seven babies,

I’ve memorized songs of Bob Marley, 10 of my own poems

and one from Sue Kwok Kim who wrote,

Did you ever see a stone so lonely

it leapt into the sea?

The poem above is by this Korean chick from the U.S. of A named Ishle Yi Park. Those are only the first couple of stanzas. The poem continues quite well & quite creatively. In a Curious Case of Benjamin Button sort of way.

There are a lot of photographs. A lot of oil paintings. A lot of thematic activism. A whole lotta personal stuff that only strangers are willing to accept and not judge.

This book (which is an understatement in itself) is beautiful. Lots of color. Lots of strategically placed black & white. A lot of content you can relate to. & the best part is that this content comes from regular womenfolk around the world.

For those such as myself who cannot afford to travel and encounter the kind strangers that travelers have the fortune to encounter, this work of art will suffice. The answer this book seeks from its authors (the women & gals who contributed) is

“What defines your generation of women?”

So this book does have feminist undertones to it. Just a warning to those who can’t stomach that. Or others who are just plan on being passive onlookers. Just a warning. But then again, if the world was perfect there would be no need for feminism. Right?