Dear Book Beat Readers,
March is Women’s History Month, and we’re celebrating the voices, stories, and achievements of women in literature, art, and politics. This month explore works by groundbreaking female authors, women resistance leaders, rediscover feminist classics, and support contemporary and experimental women writers.
Spotlight Reads for March:
–Fearless and Free by Josephine Baker
–Shakespeare and Company by Sylvia Beach
–The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
–Rad American Women A to Z by Kate Schatz
–Angela Davis: An Autobiography by Angela Davis
–Eve by Cat Bohannon
Women Who Led Resistance & Inspired Change
Throughout history, women have stood at the forefront of resistance movements, fighting for democracy, justice, and human rights. Ida B. Wells risked everything to expose racial injustice, Rani Lakshmibai led an armed rebellion against British colonial rule in India, and Sophie Scholl of the White Rose Movement defied Nazi oppression. Frances Perkins, the first female U.S. Cabinet member, who played a key role in shaping Social Security and labor rights during the New Deal. Their courage lives on in today’s activists and writers who continue to uplift, educate, and inspire.
Celebrating Voices of Diversity
This month, we highlight women whose words empower and uplift:
Maya Angelou – Her poetry and memoirs remind us of the power of resilience.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – A champion for women’s rights and storytelling that bridges cultures.
bell hooks – A revolutionary thinker on love, race, and feminism.
Joy Harjo – The first Native American U.S. Poet Laureate
Marian Anderson – A trailblazing African American opera singer, she broke racial barriers in the arts, including her iconic 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial.
Fannie Lou Hamer – A powerful civil rights leader, she co-founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and fought for Black voting rights.
Malala Yousafzai – A global advocate for girls’ education, she survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban and became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
Greta Thunberg – A fearless climate activist, she has mobilized millions through her Fridays for Future movement, demanding urgent action against climate change.
Claudette Colvin – American pioneer of the 1950s civil rights movement and retired nurse aide. On March 2, 1955, she was arrested at the age of 15 in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat to a white woman on a crowded, segregated bus.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg – American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020.
Women in Art – Trailblazing Visionaries
Women artists have redefined artistic movements, challenged gender norms, and transformed visual storytelling. This month, we spotlight:
Paula Modersohn-Becker – A pioneering German Expressionist and one of the first women to paint nude self-portraits.
Frida Kahlo – The Mexican surrealist who turned personal pain into powerful, symbolic self-portraits.
Leonora Carrington – A leading figure in Surrealism, blending mythology, feminism, and magical realism in her art.
Georgia O’Keeffe – A modernist icon, known for her bold floral compositions and landscapes capturing the American Southwest.
Faith Ringgold was a woman of many creative talents. She’s known for her paintings, sculptures, narrative quilts, children’s books, and commitment to activism.
Hilma af Klint – A visionary abstract artist whose mystical, geometric works predated many of her male contemporaries.
Yayoi Kusama – The Japanese avant-garde artist famous for her polka dots, infinity rooms, and explorations of mental health through art.
Niki de Saint Phalle – A sculptor and painter best known for her vibrant, large-scale “Nana” figures celebrating the power and energy of women.
Kara Walker – A California-born artist, explores issues of race in her work. Rather than opt for a bright color palette, however, Walker often works in monochrome, whether crafting a faux-stone fountain, a sugar sphynx, or, most prominently, her signature silhouettes.
Local Voices:
Congrats to Marion Hayden, jazz bassist and composer who just one the Kresge Eminent Artist Award for 2025.
Special In Store Women’s History Month discount!: Mention you’ve read the the Book Beat newsletter before you checkout or say the words “Read.Think.Create.” and take 15% off ANY women writers in the store through the month of March, this offer is not good on sale books or used with additional coupons or offers.
March is the month to begin thinking about and planning your outdoor garden. If you don’t have the space, perhaps grow your own vegetables in small pots and spaces if you have a patch of sun, or join a community garden. We’ve got plenty of gardening books to help you out, such as our long time favotiteSquare Foot Gardening, the world’s most popular growing method to harvest more food from less space.
Support local bookshops, Oakland Literacy Council, Madison Heights Public Library all through the month of March with the Madison Heights Women’s Club! Register for your $15 passport today at https://forms.gle/URAEBS34z7GLaofWA. Visit as many of the featured bookshops as you can throughout the month of March, and at Book Beat receive an additional 15% off your purchase with the MHWC passport.
Thank you for supporting our author signing and lecture events this month including Peter Beinart, Ethan Daniel Davidson, Alesia Johnson with Jessica Nabongo, Cheryl L. Neely, and Cheryl Head with Stephen Mack Jones. See links and stories below for more information. And Thank you for your continued enjoyment of reading, of giving books to others and your support of local small business.
Happy Reading!
~Cary, Colleen and the Book Beat staff
March 18: Alencia Johnson and Jessica Nabongo at the Detroit Public Library
March 25: Cheryl A. Head and Stephen Mack Jones at Farmington Community Library
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