Foot and Fire

Press 100 love letters Edited by Laurel Fantauzzo And Francesca Rendle-Short UP Press, 143 pages When I first opened a page randomly, I liked the poem I read but as I tried to pick some more pages, I was disappointed that the collection is not what I can call the finest since they just appeared to just comply to reach the number 100. The editors should have solicited more entries to select from from many women writers and poets. The letters were penned by women writers from the asia-pacific region, mostly by Australians. While most of the entries touch on women loving women, I found two which touch on love as universal and I loved them because they are written without pressing that wlw really exists. The more it is being canned as something not acknowledged, the more it gets to be unappreciated. There is a pained effort on that aspect which I don't like. It's disappointing for me as a reader who has already read some collections of love letters in the past.

  Gift from the sea  By Anne Morrow Lindbergh We are our Mother's Daughters By Cokie Roberts What I liked about the Gift From the Sea is that it is a personal conversation between Lindbergh and the women of her times but then all the women from her time up to now can truly relate to her words of wisdom. It is not instructive but it surely is reflective on many things a woman can and could face during her lifetime. It is an unassuming conversation yet it is powerful. It is indeed a gift, for women who wanted to be everything to everybody at a time but then integrally an artist by heart who celebrates solitude. This book is timeless, and has something to say to a woman in whatever stage she may be in her life. *** While reading this book, another favorite is summoned by my memory. I loved Cokie Roberts' We are our Mothers' Daughters because it is a modern run down of how women attained liberation. I can truly feel that the efforts of the women inclu...

Two weeks ago, we had our mandatory continuing legal education in Manila and aside from our chief at the Public Attorney's Office, two top government officials were invited: the DOJ chief and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. And what they have in common is that they are all women. It was a rare ocassion, listening to the three women manning the top agencies of the branches of our government. Of course, I was all so pleased just by knowing that women are now accepting the highest ranks in their respective league. However, a hindsight struck me: Will their being women enough for them to become maternal, productive and cooperative kind of of leaders? Will they perpetuate the patriarchal leadership? In generations that passed, patriarchal society has been proven to be destructive for having leaders who are thirsty for power and controlling by use of power. Thus, the crafting of the book,  " 48 Laws of Power, " which were all based on male-dominated societi...