I am often asked for recommendations of books and resources on feminism, poetry, spirituality, and related topics. Here are some of my special personal favorites--the ones I find myself recommending repeatedly to friends.
For more book recommendations, see my Goodreads page. For website recommendations, see Witchy Links. For book and film reviews and commentary, see the Poetry Witch Blog.
EMPOWERMENT
The Untouched Key by Alice Miller
Getting Our Bodies Back by Christine Caldwell
The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner
The Courage to Heal by Ellen Bass and Laura Davis
HEALTH
Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss
The PMS Self-Help Book by Susan Lark
Heal Your Body by Louise Hay
The Complete System of Self-Healing, Internal Exercises by Dr. Stephen T. Chang
GODDESS SPIRITUALITY AND WITCHERY
When God Was a Woman by Merlin Stone [Foundational]
The Great Cosmic Mother by Monica Sjoo and Barbara Mor
Encyclopedia of Goddesses and Heroines by Patricia Monaghan
Dreaming the Dark by Starhawk
FEMINISM
Women's Reality by Anne Wilson Schaef [This is the book that made me a feminist].
Through the Flower by Judy Chicago
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf by Ntozake Shange
MATRICULTURE
Matriachal Societies by Heide Goettner-Abendroth
The Red-Haired Girl From the Bog by Patricia Monaghan
LIVING
The Continuum Concept by Jean Liedloff [on parenting]
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
Passionate Marriage by David Schnarch
INSPIRATIONAL READING
Tao de Ching by Lao Tzu
The Goddess Companion: Daily Meditations on the Feminine Spirit by Patricia Monaghan
Outrageous Openness and The Change Me Prayer by Tosha Silver
Return of the Great Goddess by Burleigh Muten
RITUAL
Circle Round: Raising Children in Goddess Traditions by Starhawk, Anne Hill, and Diane Baker
The Spiral Dance by Starhawk
The Goddess in the Office by Z. Budapest
POETICS
The Founding of English Meter by John Thompson
Versification: A Short Introduction by James.MacAuley
Poetry for the People by June Jordan
Poetic Closure by Barbara Herrnstein Smith
REFERENCE
The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing by Casey Miller and Kate Swift
Words to Rhyme With by Willard Espy
POETRY
The Black Unicorn by Audre Lorde
Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth by Enheduanna, translated by Wolkstein and Kramer
Selected Poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay (Yale U.P. edition)