Turtle Grandmother Books
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| ISIN | 🆔 |
|---|---|
| Founded 📆 | 1982 |
| Founder 👔 | Beth Brant and Denise Dorsz |
| Defunct | 1987 |
Area served 🗺️ | |
| Products 📟 | Books, Records, Catalogs |
| Members | |
Number of employees | |
| 🌐 Website | [Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 665: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). ] |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
Turtle Grandmother Books (TGB), or simply Turtle Grandmother, was an American feminist mail-order book business from Detroit, Michigan.[1]
History[edit]
Founded by Beth Brant and Denise Dorsz in 1982, the company specialized in cataloging and promoting works by Indigenous women and women of color—especially those that “bespoke the complex intersection of personal interests, community interests, racial segregation, and structural economies in Detroit."[2] TGB was especially unique for not having floor-space and for relying on conferences and orders by mail to sell books. Turtle Grandmother Books cataloged and sold anthologies, cookbooks, children’s books, poetry and fiction.[3]
According to Brant, both she and Dorsz were driven by the desire to make works about and by Indigenous women more accessible to everyone.[4]And while they prioritized literature by women of color, they also carried books by white women to specifically promote works by Jewish women and working class women. Overall, TGB has been said to be “an invaluable service, a unique bibliography” especially during a time of political unrest in Detroit.[5]
The title “Turtle Grandmother Books” was inspired by Indigenous tradition and Grandmothers—which, according to both founders, meant women who came before us and women who share wisdom and knowledge. When asked on an interview with Maureen Brady about the meaning of the name "Turtle Grandmother," Brant and Dorsz responded with the following:[4]
“It means that in the Iroquois tradition the earth was formed on the back of a turtle, and I'm from the turtle clan which was passed on to me by my grandmothers, and it seemed an appropriate way to name a life work that we are so emotionally, spiritually and financially committed to.” - Beth Brant (1982) "The word grandmother implies a whole lot. In some ways the women that we have, the works we have in the catalogue are like grandmothers. We respect those women, we think they are wise and they have stuff to teach and that is what grandmothers are about, having that information that you are wise enough to share and that our grammas were wise enough to share with us." - Denise Dorsz (1982)
Turtle Grandmother Books and their catalogue was featured in other well-known feminist publications such as HERESIES and Sinister Wisdom, it's bibliography promoted in a special issue of the latter periodical.[6]
References[edit]
- ↑ Cullum, Linda E. (2004). "Beth Brant (aka Degonwadonti)". Contemporary American Ethnic Poets: Lives, Works, Sources. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 42–45. ISBN 0-313-32484-0. Search this book on
- ↑ Enke, Anne; Enke, Finn (7 November 2007). Finding the Movement: Sexuality, Contested Space, and Feminist Activism. ISBN 978-0822340836. Search this book on
- ↑ Nelson, Margaret F., Comp.; Walton, M. Frances, 'Camp. “Ohoyo Ikhana: A Bibliography of American Indian-Alaska Native Curriculum Materials.” OHOYO Resource Center, 1982.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Brady, Maureen, et al. “Interview: TURTLE GRANDMOTHER BOOKS.” Off Our Backs, vol. 12, no. 11, 1982, pp. 18–31. JSTOR 25774761.
- ↑ “Feminist Book by Mail.” Alliance: An Ethnic Newspaper at KSU. Kansas State University. PDF. https://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2097/34993/KSUL0048Alliance198311.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
- ↑ "A Gathering of Spirit". Sinister Wisdom. 22. 1983.
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