Last Wednesday, author, musician, and activist Sara Marcus gave a reading from her book “Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution.” The event was presented by Writing at Wesleyan as a part of the Russell House Prose and Poetry series.

Marcus was an active Riot Grrrl, taking part in the 90s’ feminist movement that, in her book, she describes as “a noisy message of female self empowerment.” And boy, was it noisy. As second-wave feminism faltered in the 80s, a new wave of girls picked up the reins. They also picked up mics, amps, and guitars. From this burgeoning community of DIY punk feminists, Riot Grrrl was born.

Marcus read from the opening of her book, which describes a Bikini Kill concert during the spring of 1992 and an abortion rights march on the National Mall the following day, all while the Supreme Court was poised to vote on the legality of a Pennsylvania law that limited access to abortions. Marcus read animatedly, brilliantly conjuring up the giddy grrrl power vibe at both events, even singing aloud the lyrics of Bikini Kill songs in a pretty spot-on impression of lead singer Kathleen Hanna.

But the march on The Mall was a rare moment of Riot Grrrl glory. On paper, the Riot Grrrl movement simply wasn’t terribly effective as a political vehicle—there were no revolutions, no feminist laws enacted. Marcus writes with an insider’s empathy about a movement that rose meteorically, burned brightly, but in the end, fell short.

Although Riot Grrrl is now nearly fifteen years dead, the similarities between its early nineties heyday and the present inspired Marcus to write her book. The parallels are quite clear—in 1992, the nation was transitioning from Bush in the White House to a young, weak-willed (Marcus’s words), center-left Democrat by the name of Bill Clinton. When Marcus began work on “Girls to the Front” in 2008, the nation was changing hands from the second Bush to another young, weak-willed (once again, Marcus’s words), center-left Democrat—Obama. And once again, abortion rights are at the center of political debate. Marcus is hoping that her book will serve to revive the Riot Grrrl spirit in the face of anti-feminist forces.

“I wanted to give girls a sense of action, to cut through the hopelessness and paralysis that sometimes sets in,” said Marcus.

And girls are listening.

“I think Riot Grrrl still resonates here at Wes,” said reading attendee Faith Harding, ’14. “The girls I’ve met here are strong and confident, and they definitely want to be heard.”