Dressed in relaxed attire, author and feminist bell hooks chatted with about 75 people at the Union about blacks in the media, movies and her books Tuesday. Hooks kept the atmosphere light, telling jokes and taking questions.
Later, dressed in a plain black dress, hooks spoke in front of more than 500 people at the Auditorium’s Fairchild Theatre.
“It’s exciting to come talk about women’s issues,” she told the audience. “We’re at a point in our nation where women’s studies are under attack and being demolished. The will to transform myself and demand transformation in the country I call home is my birthright.”
She said she’s struggled at times with publishers who didn’t believe there was a market for her work, such as “Sisters of the Yam: Black Women and Self-Recovery.”
“The industry didn’t feel there was an audience,” she said. “Not all writers have the capacity to negotiate. They know if they publish anything by me, it will make a certain amount of profit.”
Hooks has written more than 20 books and has been featured in various publications. She is a Distinguished Professor of English at City College in New York. She uses a pseudonym to honor her grandmother and her mother, and to create a separate voice from her real name, Gloria Watkins.
During the afternoon program, hooks said she is an avid reader and shared her experiences as a black female author.
“I say I’m a book slut,” she said. “I read a lot of idiotic, stupid stuff. I get this real kick out of being with masses of people reading a book. I’ve been an avid mystery reader for the past two years.”
Hooks said she recently ventured into writing children’s literature - something she didn’t think she was capable of doing.
“I think of myself as this deadly serious person, so I didn’t think I could write children’s books,” she said.
Hooks spoke about her most recent book, “Communion: The Female Search for Love,” which is the first in a trilogy.
“Creativity continues to awe me,” she said. “I am obsessed with love, with what leads people to change. Everybody in our world has something to say about love. I’m interested in the yearning we share.
“Many feminists can be patriarchal in their thinking, even if they’ve been victimized patriarchally.”
The only free time in Kathie Hooper’s schedule Tuesday afternoon was spent listening to hooks at the Union.
“I wanted to experience some of the speakers who come to campus,” the hospitality business junior said. “We have a lot of good speakers come to MSU. I thought it was a good opportunity.”
Leslie Campbell, an English graduate student, said she appreciated the content of hooks’ message. Because of her interest in film, she enjoyed reading hooks’ book, “Reel to Real: Race, Sex and Class in the Movies.”
“She was able to talk in layman’s terms about issues people make complicated, like feminism, black spectatorship and cultural criticism,” Campbell said. “She was encouraging all of us and challenging us to be critical about the things we see, especially things we regard as entertaining. That is the most important thing she said.”
