My Life, My Body

In a candid and intimate new collection of essays, poems, memoirs, reviews, rants, and railerries, Marge Piercy discusses her own development as a working-class feminist, the highs and lows of TV culture, the ego dances of a writer’s life, the homeless and the housewife, Allen Ginsberg and Marilyn Monroe, feminist utopias (and why she doesn’t live in one), why fiction isn’t physics; and of course, fame, sex, and money, not necessarily in that order. The short essays, poems, and personal memoirs intermingle like shards of glass that shine, reflect—and cut. Always personal yet always political, Piercy’s work is drawn from a deep well of feminist and political activism. Also featured is an Outspoken Interview, in which the author lays out her personal rules for living on Cape Cod, caring for cats, and making marriage work.

Marge Piercy is the author of 17 novels, including the national bestsellersBraided Lives, Gone to Soldiers, and Woman on the Edge of Time; 17 volumes of poetry; and a critically acclaimed memoir,Sleeping with Cats. She has been the recipient of four honorary doctorates and has been a key player in many of the major progressive political battles, including the anti–Vietnam War and the women’s movements, and more recently an active participant in the resistance to the war in Iraq. She lives in Wellfleet, Massachusetts.