Austin Chapter
Reader's Guide
June 2002
Flat-Footed Truths: Telling Black Women's Lives
edited by Patricia Bell-Scott
A flat-footed truth is just the rattling, stripped-down bones, ma'am, the hard facts not swaddled by polite frills. This ambitious collection by black women writers and artists aims less at individual stories--though it shares some good ones--and more at the larger issues of truth-telling when it hurts or scares you or shames those intent on silencing you...
- This book is divided into four sections. In what ways is this division useful? In what ways is it not?
- In the table of contents, note where the poems are located. How do these frame the sections?
- Which of the poems do you like best? Why?
- Each of the sections contains 3-4 essays. In your opinion, which is the most compelling essay in each of the four sections? Why? Which one of these essays speaks most directly to your own experience?
- The essay about Sojourner Truth contains some startling revisions to the historical record. How do you feel about this?
- What are some of your favorite lines from this book? Here's one of mine: "When we share our stories and seek to unshroud the lives of women who have come before us, the telling empowers us all." (page xv)
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