CPL Hosts Rivka Solomon Book Release

Celebrating Womanly Courage

By Susie Davidson

CORRESPONDENT

CAMBRIDGE – Local writer and activist Rivka Solomon admires gutsy women, and has begun a movement centered around publicizing and commending their bold and brazen accomplishments. In her anthology “That Takes Ovaries,” she has compiled contributor accounts of 64 real-life “estrogen-powered deeds” in a literary plug for empowerment that was recently lauded in both Glamour and Jane Magazines.

On June 4 she led a reading at the Cambridge Public Library at 449 Broadway, which was facilitated by Library Program Coordinator Gail Pettiford Willett, while her books were sold by New Words Bookstore. Along with contributors Iris Stammberger, Frezzia Prodero, Julia Willis and Hilken Mancini, she read excerpts and discussed the burgeoning effort, which is possibly set to branch out into a national, participatory forum.

Solomon has spearheaded a chain of open mics where women tell their tales of bravado to a welcoming group of afficionados of the strong and the strident. It’s a concept which might well take off in a major way. Designed for venues ranging from living rooms with friends to the National Organization for Women’s annual summer conference, and for bookstores, community centers and meeting rooms in between, these salutatory salons will ideally raise funds as well as consciousness.

“Many will benefit local girls' groups,” said Solomon, “and groups working to end human rights abuses against girls internationally, like female genital mutilation and sex trafficking.

“Lastly,” she said, “they can be ‘general theme’ specific theme open mics, such as on the topic of sports, or ways by which women fought back against racism or violence. They can be in celebration of specific groups. We recently had one that was predominantly Latina, on the ways Latina women are courageous and strong. And we are doing an open mike in Washington D.C. that is in celebration of Jewish women's chutzpah, too! Any woman can organize an Ovaries! open mike, whether she has organizing experience or not.”

She includes guidelines for such organization in the back of the book and on the website, www.ThatTakesOvaries.org. “I wrote this book,” she said, “because I wanted to celebrate the fun, bold things women do, and also I wanted to do whatever I could to encourage even more women and girls to be risk-takers.”

The book, four and a half years in the writing, is her longtime fait accompli.

“I just thought it would be fun. You know, how totally cool to get hundreds of stories from women and girls about the bold, audacious, outrageous things they have done!

“But I also compiled and edited this book for another reason. This book is about risk takers, women and girls who have pushed the boundaries, jumped over barriers, sailed around obstacles - often having fun while they did those things, often standing up for their own or others’ rights. I wanted to encourage that.

“I wanted to celebrate female risk takers in a wide range of activities (in the world of work, in the world of playing and having fun, in the home, on the streets). I wanted to affirm women and girls who are already risk takers in their lives AND I wanted to encourage others, readers who might not live their lives that way, to take a bold new step.

“I wrote this book,” she said, “because courage is infectious. I wanted to do my part in encouraging women and girls to be bold, because if we live boldly we are less likely to put up with the unfortunate issues that we witness daily like sexism, racism, homophobia and the like, and we are more likely to live full lives and have fun, because we will be more adventurous and more courageous.”