 Part memoir, part investigative journalism, Cambodian Grrrl: Self-Publishing in Phnom Penh is the account of teaching self-publishing to the first generation of university women in an impoverished country scarred by genocide and political repression. (More atCantankerous Titles.)
Reviews of Cambodian Grrrl “The best travel book I’ve read this year.”—USA Today “Moving, hilarious, and unbelievable in the way that only true stories are.”—Portland Mercury “Moore’s unfeigned candor, along with an inventive, almost giddy narrative voice that becomes more and more like the voices of her teenage dorm mates, leaves scarce room for readers to indulge their cynicism. Moore hits the mark on just about every topic [revealing a] skill at distilling complicated ideas through a language barrier with a veteran artist’s acute irreverence … With its slender binding and intimate voice, Cambodian Grrrl … risks more, and reveals more, than plenty of those longer books that are practically branded as “serious literature” (you know the ones). Its emotional and intellectual honesty remind us what storytelling is for.”—Truthout “Quite enjoyable … I would highly recommend Cambodian Grrrl.” –Gender Across Borders “One of the most important books of the year.” —largeheartedboy “This premise can’t help but raise red flags: a white woman traveling to a Third World country — on a Fulbright, no less — intent on bestowing her knowledge on an unenlightened population. It’s a blueprint for the benevolent colonialism that is the hallmark of modern US history. Yet the peculiarity of Moore, a former editor of Punk Planet, bringing her riot grrrl ethos to Cambodia … works. … Cambodian Grrrl exposes — whether it was Moore’s intention or not — how corporate control of the media in the US is continuous with the logic of profitability which creates exploitative conditions in Cambodia [and] attains the modest yet important success of making personal narratives and experience matter to critiques of history and globalization.”—Hyphen Magazine “This book is neither about Cambodia nor self-publishing. Rather it is about love. … Somehow [the author] is able to discuss issues of democracy, freedom of speech, the global garment market, slave labor, rape, mass murder and a litany of other tough subjects and leave me smiling. That left me with hope that all we really do need is love.”—Viva La Feminista “This is book is totally amazing. . . . Travelogue, memoir, DIY love story, political history, compulsively readable. You’ll be smarter and doubly inspired when you’re done with this big little book.” —Michelle Tea, RADAR Productions “A quirky, brisk, and piercingly honest recitation of one woman’s experience in a post-conflict society overseas.”—The Rumpus “Cambodian Grrrl is an account of teaching freedom of speech where it’s least wanted.”—Windy City Times “I received your book, Cambodian Grrrl … and loved it! Read it in one day … too good to stop. It brought back memories of when I first arrived in Cambodia. Now I’m a local … and have decided to stay in Cambodia for good.”—Her Royal Highness Soma Norodom
Advance praise for Cambodian Grrrl “A passionate, engaging, heartbreaking, funny, and inspiring book. I want to slip it into every tourist guide to Asia and give a copy to every girl in the world.” —Jean Kilbourne, author, filmmaker, and cultural critic “Anne Elizabeth Moore lets readers peer over her shoulder as she attempts the implausible. It turns out, the implausible is hard, and funny, and tragic, and illuminating, but once you sign up for the journey she never lets you look away. After reading what this woman accomplished in a few months, you might ask yourself some hard questions about how you spent last summer . . .” —Glynn Washington, NPR’s Snap Judgment
“Imagine a country whose young women are systemically denied education, whose media are largely state-controlled, and whose genocidal history has been virtually purged from its citizens’ collective memory. Now imagine an itinerant feminist writer, former punk artist, and independent media-maker arriving to give 32 young women the deceptively simple independent publishing tools they need to tell their stories—and, in the process, to become powerful advocates for their own rights and for the just future of their country. Cambodian Grrrl offers a compelling and spirited model of what is possible when media-making becomes a community endeavor. Don’t understand why media is a human rights issue? You will by the end of Anne Elizabeth Moore’s latest effort. And then you’ll want to give a copy to every smart teen girl you know.” —Jennifer Pozner, Executive Director, Women In Media & News “When Punk Planet, the zine that longtime zinester and activist Anne Elizabeth Moore had co-edited and published for three years, closed its doors in 2007, one could be forgiven for thinking that maybe she entered into at least a short period of mourning or depression. Not so. Moore decamped to Cambodia, starting a program where she mentored young women students in areas of creative expression and self-publishing. In a country like Cambodia, where the media is an arm of the government, this work is potentially revolutionary. … You get the sense that Moore feels slightly in awe of these women, most taking classes seven days a week (sometimes multiple degrees from multiple universities), and living in the first all-girls dorm in the country, and yet still they have seemingly boundless reserves of energy in learning about self-publishing and making zines. Zines! … 1000000000000000% punk rock.” —Jacksonville Public Library . . . . . . . . Listen to Moore on ABC Radio Australia. Here’s an interview with the Grand Rapids Rapidian. Read Moore’s “Book Notes” on largeheartedboy. An excerpt appears here at Chicago Publishes. Read an interview about the book on Today’s Chicago Woman. Listen to Moore talk about the project on The Matthew Filipowicz Show. Watch this interview on GritTV with Laura Flanders.
|
