The writer bell hooks was not just a profound literary figure for many women – she was their introduction to womanhood, self-actualisation, and shaped their expectations of love.
On Thursday, her family revealed that the author, professor, and feminist activist died at home in Kentucky, US, surrounded by her loved ones.
Born Gloria Jean Watkins in the segregated town of Hopkinsville, Kentucky in 1952, hooks took her name from her maternal great-grandmother and spelled it in lower case letters as she wanted the focus to be on her message, not her.
She wrote more than 30 books exploring feminism, race, capitalism and more, was a fierce advocate for Black women and shaped the lives of many.
Tributes to her work have poured in on social media and continue to do so, with established writers such as Roxanne Gay and Bernardine Evaristo also sharing their homages and why hooks inspired them.
Here are a collection of tweets honouring the acclaimed writer.
it is not hyperbole to say bell hooks saved me and so many of the women i've been blessed to move through this life alongside. what an incalculable loss, my goodness
— Hannah Giorgis | ሐና ጊዮርጊስ (@hannahgiorgis)
December 15, 2021
I was in an abusive relationship when a friend shared Bell Hooks All About Love. Once I read: “Love and abuse cannot coexist”, I decided to leave and it was the most radical freeing decision I ever made.
Bell Hooks saved my life.
— La Panterona (@dalilah_black)
December 15, 2021
bell hooks wrote directly for and to Black women, and it is a beautiful thing that everyone can learn from her, but her soul-filled love for us was so apparent in her work
— Bolu Babalola (@BeeBabs)
December 15, 2021
bell hooks' body of work taught me that i can just write if I want to. she didn't care about pleasing academia, she cared about her work being accessible and about thinking through all sides of an issue. she taught me that thinking is never in vain, and that writing is an action.
— pfizer papi (@NicoleFroio)
December 15, 2021
I am heartbroken. bell hooks' words helped to make me the writer i am, taught me me that there is no shame in centering love and tenderness, in approaching and embracing it. with ferocity.she is an everlasting force and blessing may she rest in perfect peace
— Bolu Babalola (@BeeBabs)
December 15, 2021
bell hooks made me want to fight and write and love.
— Chani Nicholas (@chaninicholas)
December 15, 2021
Bell Hooks’ teachings have shaped my 20s radically, I am just basking in all the tweets and blog posts about how this woman’s work has changed people’s lives and I’m so teary. A black feminist really did that.
— Frank'sOcean (@Kgaotsang_M)
December 15, 2021
bell hooks taught me that there is power in looking. that my gaze was oppositional and necessary. that it held the power to restructure and reimagine what the world can look like without reproducing domination and harm.
— J∆'T∆∆∆∆∆VI∆ (@jatovia)
December 15, 2021
bell hooks has taught me so much. I’m grateful for everything she’s left us with. may she rest in peace.
— Najma Sharif (@overdramatique)
December 15, 2021
I can’t describe how much bell hooks has influenced me as a writer and as an academic, her writing made me feel comfortable with being critical
— in a panoramic? (@_haaniyah_)
December 15, 2021
what bell hooks particularly gifted me is a language of grief that is situated in love. her insistence in thinking of love and grief as symbiotic forces, as practices that depend on one another, has impacted me for the rest of my life. grief is the greatest expression of love.
— bell shooks is UNAVAILABLE (@fridahalo)
December 15, 2021
bell hooks has taught us so much about life and love. Her influence on our lives as black women has been healing and empowering. Her legacy will live on forever, through her work and through everyone whose lives she has changed.
Thank you bell. Rest in Power.
pic.twitter.com/XWWtl7Mqb6 — Black Girl Fest (@BlackGirlFest)
December 15, 2021
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