woman proud, woman strong: a collection of womanpride and lesbianpride writings by Mel Makaw

This collection represents writing by Mel Makaw. Some of the offerings are poems, some are song lyrics, a few are short stories. Included also are essays/columns written under various headings for various publications both mainstream and alternative.

Mel says: "The thread that all of these writings have in common is that they all have to do with the joy and pride I find in womankind. I love women; I love women unapologetically and unabashedly. My goal here is to celebrate women with my words, to honor the women I've known and who have inspired me through the years. Because there have been so many great women in my life and I've written so much - everything I write for any reason has some sort of feminine influence, great or small - it was hard to pick and choose what pieces to include here. I finally settled on works that either are clearly what I call womanpride or lesbianpride works, or that are, for me personally, an expression of a strong female inspiration or experience."

Women of all persuaions will find themselves somewhere in the words and feelings offered in this book; you'll also find reasons to smile, and motivations to share and carry on. And when you are done reading, you'll find yourself standing taller and feeling stronger and loving who you are. We've come a long way, baby, and we have a long way yet to go. Let's go there together, in sisterhood.