Books and Publications

"Death Without Weeping: Daily Life in Northeast Brazil" is the theme of the April 1994 The New Internationalist. Based on the book Death Without Weeping (600 pages, 1992, University of California Press) by anthropologist Nancy Scheper-Hughes, the lives of slum women and their children in Brazil's poverty-stricken Northeast are shocking and moving by turns. The exploitation, by sugar cane plantations, is endless and gives rise both to desperation and resistance.

Hear My Testimony by María Teresa Tula (1994, 224 pages, $14). A deeply personal account of the life of a human rights activist in El Salvador. Tula describes her childhood, marriage, political activism in CO-MADRES (Committee of Mothers and Relatives of Political Prisoners, Assassinated and Disappeared of El Salvador) and the resulting imprisonment and torture. Her testimony is followed by several chapters on recent Salvadoran history, women's grassroots organizing and more stories of testimony. Translated by Lynn Stephen, available from South End Press, 116 Saint Botolph St., Boston, MA 02115, USA.

The January 1994 issue of The New Internationalist is on "Mexico: Through the Tortilla Curtain". There are articles on the struggle of the Huichol indigenous people, the economic exploitation of Mexican workers in the US, NAFTA, GATT and an interview with a radical bishop, plus a short sketch of Mexican history. Contact the New Internationalist, 120-126 Lavender Avenue, Mitcham, Surrey CR4 3HP, UK. Tel. +44 81 685 0372.

Lesbians Talk: Making Black Waves (64 pages, 1993, Scarlet Press, UK, £4.50) by Valerie Mason-John and Ann Khambatta is the first book by Black lesbians to document the lives and history of Black lesbians in Britain. "For me, one of the main aims of the book is for black lesbians to realize that there is a black lesbian herstory behind us. That Black lesbianism is something which has and does happen in our countries of origin, it's not a product of colonisation." The book highlights some of the 500-year-old story of black lesbians in Britain itself, and around the world: the women-only societies of ancient India called Strirajya, and the legal marriages between women among the Kuriar people of southwest Kenya and northwest Tanzania. There are fascinating interviews with Black lesbians (whose heritage includes Africa, the Caribbean, South and South East Asia and the Middle East) about their lives, political debates and issues today. Making Black Waves can be ordered from the feminist bookshop Silver Moon, 64-68 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H OBB, UK. Tel. +44 (0)71 836 7906.

Lesbertária is the name of a new Portuguese-language lesbian newsletter in Brazil. For a sample copy send an international money order in the amount of US $3 to: Caixa Postal, 01495-970 Sao Paulo, SP Brazil.