The Sisterhood

October 23, 2023
Thorsson (Women’s Work), an English professor at the University of Oregon, presents a vivid group portrait of “The Sisterhood,” a short-lived yet influential collective of Black women academics, journalists, novelists, and editors who in the 1970s worked to “secure publication, publicity, and recognition” for Black women. The group—which counted poet Audre Lorde, critic Margo Jefferson, and playwright Ntozake Shange among its members—was founded by novelist Alice Walker and poet June Jordan in 1977 New York City as a network for supporting and promoting each other’s work. Early member Toni Morrison, then the “first and only Black woman editor at Random House,” convinced Essence’s editor-in-chief to publish “serious, sometimes politically radical Black feminist writing” by Jordan and scholar Judith Wilson, who was also in the group. The Sisterhood stopped meeting in 1979, hobbled by the members’ busy schedules and dissent over whether to expand into such political and community initiatives as establishing a center for Black women survivors of domestic violence. Thorsson’s research, which draws on correspondence and meeting minutes, illuminates a formative period for some of the most enduring writers of the 1980s while offering a “model for collective action to change cultural institutions.” It’s a scintillating snapshot of a significant moment in American literature. Photos.

October 1, 2023

Thorsson (English, Univ. of Oregon; Women's Work) here reveals the intentions and impact of the Sisterhood, a group of Black women writers, scholars, journalists, and editors who gathered on the third Sunday of every month from 1977 until 1979. Founded by Alice Walker and June Jordan, the group of roughly 30 members--Toni Morrison, Audre Lorde, Ntozake Shange, and more--strategized to get Black women's writings published, reviewed, and taught. Thorsson believes she must use her white privilege to increase the reading of works by Black women writers as well. Sisterhood members took turns hosting potluck gatherings in their New York homes, and they kept minutes and collected dues but purposefully had no hierarchy. Thorsson meticulously scours copious amounts of archival documents, interviews, close readings of members' work, and black-and-white photographs, including an iconic one taken after the first meeting. Some details are often repeated, which may be off-putting to readers. Nonetheless, the book excels at capturing white women's vs. Black women's approaches to feminism at the time, blatant discrimination, the reasons the Sisterhood disbanded, and its legacy. VERDICT A fascinating, empowering look at how Black women writers collaborated to move their own needle in the publishing industry and academia.--Jill Cox-Cordova

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2023
How a group of Black feminists created a model for advocacy. Thorsson, an English professor and "white woman scholar of African American literature," offers a richly detailed account of a group of about 30 Black women who called themselves The Sisterhood. From 1977 to 1979, they met regularly at least once per month, kept minutes, collected dues, and worked to secure "publication, publicity, and recognition for Black women writers." Co-founded by novelist Alice Walker and poet June Jordan, both already well-known writers, the group arose from a general despondency, in the early 1970s, over the failure of civil rights activism, as well as a personal need for a place where Black women intellectuals and activists could find common ground. Members included poets, playwrights (Ntozake Shange), novelists (Toni Morrison), editors, scholars, academics, journalists (Margo Jefferson), and critics. In an appendix, the author offers concise biographies of each woman who attended, however briefly. The Sisterhood's efforts, Thorsson asserts, led to a burgeoning of Black women's writing in magazines such as Essenceand Ms., which the group especially targeted, and in trade publishing. Moreover, they laid the foundation for Black feminist scholarship in colleges and universities. The group dissolved partly because of its success: With new opportunities--and pressures of day jobs, family, and creative work--some members found it hard to find time to meet each month. There was also dissent about the purpose of the group, with some younger members frustrated that the goals, and even the meaning of Black feminism, were not shared. Some members sensed a "pecking order" determined by age and career stage, which made others feel unwelcome. Even after The Sisterhood stopped meeting formally, Thorsson reveals, friendships among members provided moral and practical support, and its influence persisted by building "a cultural landscape of magazines, publishers, general readers, students, and teachers who were ready for their books." A well-documented contribution to Black literary history.

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