"Meridel Le Sueur, Barbara Smith, Nellie Wong, Judy Grahn, and Sharon Doubiago are among the writers who range through speeches, songs, poetry, essays, and fiction in this moving anthology." --Ms. Magazine "Powerful in their dailiness, and full of memory, frustration, endurance, and occasionally a softer emotion, these affecting selections deserve a wide audience." --Feminist Bookstore News "The range of voices raised and experiences represented throughout the book is expansive and liberating, as is the inclusion of any number of unforgettable works by lesser-known writers." --VLS "Ambitious,...

This book about working-class identity, consciousness, and agency offers an alternative to middle-class assimilation and working-class amnesia. The 25 contributors use memory--both personal and collective--to show the relationship between the uncertain economic rhythms of working-class life and the possibilities for cultural and political agency. 40 illustrations.

What are two hands worth?
In linking forms of cultural expression to labor, occupational injuries, and deaths, "Hands: Physical Labor, Class, and Cultural Work" centers what is usually decentered--the complex culture of working-class people. Janet Zandy begins by examining the literal loss of lives to unsafe jobs and occupational hazards. She asks critical and timely questions about worker representation--who speaks for employees when the mills, mines, factories, and even white-collar cubicles shut down? She presents the voices of working-class writers and artists, and discusses their...