If I Had a Hammer: Women's Work in Poetry, Fiction, and Photographs

This collection, conceived to broadly address the subject of women's work, focuses mainly on women in dead-end jobs struggling to make ends meet, with little hope of finding fulfilling employment opportunities. In Candida Lawrence's witty tale, ``Spotter,'' for example, Alice labors as a cashier at an amusement park, demeaned by her overzealous boss and the ridiculous uniform she must wear. Nevertheless, several of the stories here are noteworthy for their uncompromising portrayals of women fighting to gain respect and financial security in various work milieus, particularly Karen Loeb's ``Machines,'' Barbara Unger's ``Search Committee'' and Virginia Rudasill Mortenson's ``Hideaway Inn.'' Overall, the poetry tends to be amateurish and cliched. Kate Braid's ``These Hips'' is spoken by a female contractor whose ``strong hips are built for the birth of buildings,'' and Leslea Newman's ``Ode to Secretaries of America'' urges women to ``get up off their chairs and take a walk in the sun.'' The photographs are unexciting representations of women going about their everyday work routines. Martz is editor of Papier-Mache Press. (Aug.)