Anthology an apt celebration of International Women's Day

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Mar. 8--Between the covers of the beautifully produced new book, "Imagining Ourselves: Global Voices From a New Generation of Women," you will find much more than stunning photos, artwork and prose.

Unconventional and sometimes shocking, the visually eclectic anthology captures the energy, passions and hopes of 105 young women from 57 countries. Contributing, among others, are a gypsy girl from Eastern Europe, a reform movement activist from Malaysia, a Ukrainian poet and a musician from Mali.

In her two-page contribution, poet Ishle Yi Park, 28, Korean born and living in the U.S., writes: "My mother once told me after reading my work, 'I don't know if you're brave or shameless.' Maybe I am a bit of both. The women of my generation are in a position of stepping forth and claiming their space."

In many ways the contributors to "Imagining Ourselves" (New World Library, $26.95) are laying claim to the world they will inherit, a world in which they will be charged with addressing the social, political, economic and environmental problems that plague the planet.

"This book gave me back the passionate optimism of my youth," Chilean author Isabel Allende writes in the foreword. "This young generation of women will have a tremendous impact on the future."

The idea for the book took shape in fall 2001 when San Francisco resident Paula Goldman, 26, world-traveled and Ivy League-educated, was feeling "very disillusioned with the state of the world [and] having breakfast with a girlfriend about how to make a difference."

They started to compare notes.

Goldman and her friend, both of whom had worked and traveled in numerous countries, realized they knew dozens of young "incredible women ... who were making courageous moves in their lives and contributing vital leadership in their communities."

Soon, local friends were enlisted in the effort to get as many women as possible to answer the question: What defines your generation of women? More than 3,000 replies came in from around the globe, 90 percent by e-mail, Goldman said, noting that as a sign of the role technology is playing in young women's lives.

"The goal of 'Imagining Ourselves' is to inspire young women to take action, both in their own lives and in their communities," Goldman said.

The San Francisco-based International Museum of Women also invested in the project, seeing in Goldman's effort a chance to start a conversation about the experiences and goals that unite young women around the world.

The book's publication and an online component on the museum's Web site (www.imow.org) are set to coincide with International Women's Day Wednesday.

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I will call my children mestiza

Their father is white

Under the heading "their father is white"

He is part Scot, part native, part john wayne, part

beatnik

He can carry a card and get minority scholarships

I will tell him we need the money

He points to his blond hair and blue eyes and laughs

No one will believe him

So he will be white and privileged

Even though he is neither

--excerpt of a poem by Kumarini Silva, who was born in Sri Lanka. A writer and scholar based in Boston, she has taught film criticism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Celebrate women at these events

People wanting to commemorate Women's History Month in the Chicago area have no shortage of events to choose from. Here are some possibilities:

International Women's Day rally

Noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Daley Center, 50 W. Washington St., Chicago. 773-278-6706. The International Women's Day Coalition holds a rally and march, with speakers from various women's groups.

Film panel discussion

5:30-7:30 p.m. Wed., Film Row Cinema, 1104 S. Wabash Ave., 8th Floor, Chicago. Free. 312-344-8829. Female filmmakers discuss how they and their colleagues are influencing culture. Presented by Columbia College Chicago's Institute for Women and Gender.

Native American history

11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. March 16, ATC Auditorium of Elgin Community College, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin. Free. 847-214-7144. Historian and artist Frances Hagemann lectures about Archange Ouilmette, a Potawatomi woman in the area north of Chicago who received land in a 19th Century treaty with the U.S. She and her descendants played an important part in the history of north suburbia.

Diversity

career fair

10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. March 16, Illinois Room, University of Illinois at Chicago Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted St., Chicago. $10 public; free for all students, alumni and employees of all campuses of the university. 312-996-2300. About 80 companies will be at the fair.

Art exhibit

8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays through March 24, east lobby of Daley Center, 50 W. Washington St., Chicago. Free. 312-744-3840. Sixteen portraits of women from various cultures by Chicago artist Andrea Harris will be on view.

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