Member-only story
Ani DiFranco: My Righteous Babe
A Taliswoman Short
Ani DiFranco, fierce feminist folk singer that she is, stands at the nexus of so much for me.
I was 19 and living in the Lower Haight District of San Francisco when my roommate in the house where I was squatting introduced me to the music of Ani DiFranco. It was a revelation to me, this driving, insistent, and utterly commanding guitar (composed & played by a woman!) with clever lyrics that matched the music’s intensity.
Soon after, I’d return to Texas, sullen and defeated, I felt, by California. But I took with me my adoration of Ani, and spread my love for her to my new friends, other baby feminists in college.
For all that she’s inspired in me, Ani is one of my Taliswomen.