Eruptions of Inanna

Justice, Gender, and Erotic Power

Nightboat Books
Judy Grahn
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WINNER of the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology’s Sarasvati Nonfiction Book Award!


Path-breaking lesbian poet & scholar Judy Grahn returns to the stories of Inanna the Mesopotamian goddess of erotic love and justice to reimagine the contemporary world.

In her trademark lusciously erotic writing, Judy Grahn illuminates eight dramatic stories exploring the Mesopotamian goddess Inanna’s power and relevance for contemporary queer feminist audiences. Psychologically rich, morally and ethically exhilarating, passionate and full of life, these stories reimagine central western myths, including the book of Job and Gilgamesh with women and queer people as central actors. In every sentence, Grahn proves how revisiting origin stories is a vital world-making activity.

Contributor Bio

Judy Grahn is an internationally known poet, author, mythographer, and cultural theorist. Her works include seven books of nonfiction, two book length poems, five poetry collections, a reader, and a novel. An early Gay activist who walked the first picket of the White House for Gay rights in 1965, she later founded Gay Women’s Liberation and the Women’s Press Collective. Her intention with writing is to replace obsolete philosophies with better ones. Her subjects range from LGBT history and mythology to feminist critiques of current crises, new origin theories of inclusion, what makes us human, taking racism personally in dismantling white supremacy, and stories of how to engage with creature-minds and spirit. She also writes about and teaches poetry of Sumerian goddess Inanna, and has written three books tying her to Helen of Troy, and bringing Inanna’s major stories up to date. Judy holds a Ph.D. in Integral Studies/Women’s Spirituality, from the California Institute of Integral Studies.

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