"Civil Wars" [is] a book of thorough and unwavering radicalism….

[The] articles form a kind of autobiography of thought and feeling, the story of one individual's activism and search for community. June Jordan is a poet, a woman, a black, and these things define the issues that engage her….

"Civil Wars" is the record of a strenuous, complicated journey…. Very little is forgotten and much is forgiven as June Jordan travels from one subject to another. Themes recur inextricably linked; in the way a locomotive speedily pulls the rest of the train into view….

Many of her opinions are provocative. Her poetry and her interpretations of literary texts are informed by her experiences as a black woman. (p. 8)

Miss Jordan considers at length the importance and trials of feminism for black women. She prefers to think of feminism as an inseparable part of a worldwide struggle against all...