If I Had a Hammer Women's Work

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

This collection, conceived to broadly address the subject of women's work, focuses mainly on women in dead-end jobs struggling to make ends meet, with little hope of finding fulfilling employment opportunities. In Candida Lawrence's witty tale, ``Spotter,'' for example, Alice labors as a cashier at an amusement park, demeaned by her overzealous boss and the ridiculous uniform she must wear. Nevertheless, several of the stories here are noteworthy for their uncompromising portrayals of women fighting to gain respect and financial security in various work milieus, particularly Karen Loeb's ``Machines,'' Barbara Unger's ``Search Committee'' and Virginia Rudasill Mortenson's ``Hideaway Inn.'' Overall, the poetry tends to be amateurish and cliched. Kate Braid's ``These Hips'' is spoken by a female contractor whose ``strong hips are built for the birth of buildings,'' and Leslea Newman's ``Ode to Secretaries of America'' urges women to ``get up off their chairs and take a walk in the sun.'' The photographs are unexciting representations of women going about their everyday work routines. Martz is editor of Papier-Mache Press. (Aug.)

Library Journal

This anthology of poetry, prose, and photography by women deals with their feelings about the work that they do. The contributors write about all type of work--paid and unpaid, professional, clerical, technical, and artistic. They talk about their hopes and frustrations, their fatigue and triumphs. The quality of the writing varies, but the spirit of these 60 women is evident. They take pride in their tasks, and they demand respect from co-workers and managers. The photographs capture the energy of the work place exceptionally well. This is not a necessary purchase for most collections, but it is an interesting and intimate look at women's lives. Women's studies collections will want to add it.-- Barbara M. Bibel, Oakland P.L., Cal.