
Cook and the Carpenter
A Novel by the Carpenter
June Davis Arnold(Author)
New York University Press
Published on 1. April 1995
Book
Paperback/Softback
216 pages
978-0-8147-0631-2 (ISBN)
Description
Women's liberation sought to transform every sector of U.S. society--its educational system, culture, language, politics, and, importantly, the delivery of social services. To enable this movement, women all over the country began to establish women's centers.
In New York City, women from almost every local women's liberation group took over an abandoned building in lower Manhattan on New Year's Eve, 1970. They named the building The Fifth Street Women's Building and renovated it to feed, clothe, shelter, and educate women in need. The take-over was a huge success, attracting hundreds of activists and community members. Thirteen days later, the New York City Tactical Police stormed the building, expelled the women, and ended the action. The City then tore the building down and built a parking lot on the site.
June Arnold was one of the original planners and an active participant in this episode. When she got out of jail, she went home and wrote this novel about what happened. The Cook and the Carpenter, which quickly gained fame for its use of a non- gendered language, remains one of the best representations of the time period that berthed modern feminism and paved the way for lesbian communities.
In New York City, women from almost every local women's liberation group took over an abandoned building in lower Manhattan on New Year's Eve, 1970. They named the building The Fifth Street Women's Building and renovated it to feed, clothe, shelter, and educate women in need. The take-over was a huge success, attracting hundreds of activists and community members. Thirteen days later, the New York City Tactical Police stormed the building, expelled the women, and ended the action. The City then tore the building down and built a parking lot on the site.
June Arnold was one of the original planners and an active participant in this episode. When she got out of jail, she went home and wrote this novel about what happened. The Cook and the Carpenter, which quickly gained fame for its use of a non- gendered language, remains one of the best representations of the time period that berthed modern feminism and paved the way for lesbian communities.
Reviews / Votes
"A classic, and perhaps, even the beginning of a new literature. Through sex and anger, through love, desire, loss of love, and conspiracy, through some of the realest encounters between parents and children ever written, the novel moves out in spirit to the reality of the `takeover.'" (Village Voice)More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 206 mm
Width: 138 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
248 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8147-0631-2 (9780814706312)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
The late June Arnold was the author of Sister Gin, Applesauce, and Baby Houston. With Parke Bowman, she founded the feminist press Daughters which published such authors as Rita Mae Brown, Blanche Boyd, and Bertha Harris. Bonnie Zimmerman is Professor of Women's Studies at San Diego State University and is the author of The Safe Sea of Women: Lesbian Fiction, 1969-1989.