Sex Work in World Literature Collection

Cyprian Ekwensi; Else Jerusalem; Han Bangqing; Tilly Lawless; Shang Andrews; Gabriela Cabezon Camara et al.

Edité par Various, Various, 2019

A propos de cet article

V.p.: v.i., [1880 2021]. Twenty-five volumes; chiefly octavos; various bindings. Condition ranges from Fair to Fine, though generally most volumes in the Very Good to Near Fine range, with occasional rubbing and wear to margins. We offer here a collection of twenty-five works of world literature relating to the theme of sex work. Spanning nearly 150 years, the collection shines a light on the way the sex worker was treated and observed across the literature of fifteen countries spanning six continents (only Antarctica is not represented), offering opportunities for critical discussion and further research. In handling this collection, whose geographic and temporal breath eludes generalization, certain trends have emerged: due to biases and publishing trends of the era, male writers predominate the early decades of the collection with sex workers treated as objects of lust, fascination, and degradation. The earliest title in the collection, flash newspaper reporter Ranson H. Andrews pseudonymously-written 1880 novel Cranky Ann, the Street Walker, is one of the earliest examples of Chicago crime fiction, a sensationalized portrait of sex work, gambling, and alcoholism. Yet over the decades women's voices emerge and the internal struggles, experiences, and calculations of the characters come to the fore. In two of the most recent titles On Black Sisters Street by Chika Unigwe and Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl's Confabulous Memoir by Kai Cheng Thom, female empowerment is the dominant theme as sex worker girl gangs (the "Warrior-Sisters" and "Lipstick Lacerators," respectively) roam the streets exacting vengeance on men that have wronged them. Each title is notable for its unique voice or treatment of the subject, but a few stand out and are worthy of further notice. Feminist and female sexuality theorist Elsa Jerusalem's sensational work Der heilige Skarabäus (The Sacred Scarab, later published as Red House Alley in the U.S.) was based on extensive research on the inner workings of Viennese brothels, which gives an in-depth look into work-place operations and the relationships of the sex workers. The book was hugely successful and widely read for decades, before being banned by the Nazis. An important and groundbreaking labor novel notable for its use of stream of consciousness as well as centering the experiences of sex workers themselves. Individually and as a whole, these works have much to say about the societies they come from with respect to the role of women, gender expression, and cultural signifiers. In Gabriel Cabezon Camara s La Virgen Cabeza, a "travesti" named Cleopatra is beaten in a police station, sees the Virgin Mary, and becomes a spiritual guide for the cabeza slum. Activist Nawal El Saadawi s experience meeting a sex worker sentenced to be hanged for killing her pimp in a women s Cairo prison inspired her work, Woman at Point Zero. Zola s Nana begins a multi-decade cross cultural exchange: Henry James shares his impressions of the book and character in an early London edition included here, while Kafu Nagai s Japanese translation signals the mutual adoration and influence between French and Japanese writers and artists at the turn of the century. Cyprian Ekwensi s Jagua Nana, again inspired by the Zola a Nana, "whose exaggerated sexuality is of the brassy, chain-smoking, body-baring sort" was an influential text for the 15-year-old Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Complete list, including annotated bibliography and condition report available upon request.

N° de réf. du vendeur 33824

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Sex Work in World Literature Collection
• Éditeur: Various, Various
• Date de parution: 2019
• Édition: Edition originale
• État de l'article: Very Good
• État de la jaquette: Very Good
• Catalogues du vendeur:
  • Sex Work