Making Face, Making Soul =: Haciendo Caras: Creative and Critical Perspectives by Feminists of Color

In her introduction to this anthology of essays and poetry by women of color, Anzaldua ( Borderlands/La Frontera ) says that the reader ``must do the work of piecing this text together,'' because doing so imparts a feeling for the ``fragmented and interrupted dialogue'' with which feminists, especially those of color, must contend in the struggle against patriarchial discourse and the problems that it spawns: racism, myopia, ethnocentricity, outright hatred. From this perspective, reading this book is a cathartic and, potentially, individuating experience; one can gloss over the jargon-laden, anachronistic essays by academically entrenched feminists and take great pleasure reading the writings of students, activists and artists who speak from an experiential viewpoint on such disarming subjects as ``oppressed hair.'' Many of the best pieces, for instance ``Notes from a Fragmented Daughter,'' combine theoretical essay with poetry and personal narration, reflecting a breadth of emotion that most people keep tightly concealed. This is the book's primary purpose, to give voice to thoughts and feelings which have been privatized and occluded. (Sept.)