A huge shout out of congratulations to Andrea Quinlan whose poetry chapbook "We Speak Girl" will be published by Dancing Girl Press in 2012.
I can't wait to read it!
Monday, September 26, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Two good
HUGE thanks to Deirdra of A Storybook World
for presenting me with this fabulous award!
It's completely spiffing to receive any validation whatsoever and it's particularly lovely coming from someone as talented as Deirdra. Please do check out her blog. She has some wonderful interviews among other treats.
In other exciting news, I have two poems in Horizon Review. My sincere gratitude to Katy Evans-Bush for all her hard work and for being such a pleasure to work with. Thank you, Katy.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Heir piece
Huge thanks with frills and rare buttons on to Andrea Quinlan for hosting my piece, 'Tagged' over at Story Bought Dress.
The piece is less a fiction than an elaborate analogy of how vintage wear makes me feel. I love that each item carries a memory of its past - that by my wearing of a piece I can evoke a sort of haunting - but in the best way - and acquire the experience of the life of an other through their garments. And it's the sort of not quite one thing or another writing that I love to indulge in, therefore I am grateful to Andrea for indulging me!
The piece is less a fiction than an elaborate analogy of how vintage wear makes me feel. I love that each item carries a memory of its past - that by my wearing of a piece I can evoke a sort of haunting - but in the best way - and acquire the experience of the life of an other through their garments. And it's the sort of not quite one thing or another writing that I love to indulge in, therefore I am grateful to Andrea for indulging me!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
In her written
I've threatened to expose my views on feminism before on this blog, I think I may even have noted my rejection of the term 'feminism', but I must thank Women Rule Writer over at the Anti-Room for finally drawing out of me exactly what it is about the term that doesn't agree with me.
I think I'd like to add to my comment there - but to put it here rather than gobbling up any more comments space there - and say that, for me, patriarchy is at its strongest and conversely least detected within our language system. I'm not suggesting we change the language or that it would be possible or acceptable to drop gender markers, for example, from it - though this would whittle down discrimination at least in the written form. Shock horror, I don't even have the answer! But I do strongly, passionately believe that our entire value system is flawed and language is where it's clearest to see the discrimination, though most often ignored, and where it is easiest to stop. However, we have to learn to recognise it.
Our entire language is an extension of patriarchy. We don't gender every word so we have a better chance than, say, the French to rectify this but we do have gender in the language. Fact. We have masculine and feminine. Pretty simple so far, pretty fair, nest-ce pas? OK but what I think happens, all too often, still (no I am not the first to note this nor do I claim to have some enlightened position on the situation here), is how the masculine word is favoured over the feminine. Waiter/waitress (caps omission deliberate). Think up a few binaries. Try it. I am aware that there's some work being done to address this imbalance - actor is now favoured over the actor/actress dichotomy - this is progress and it's as much as we can aim for in the now given that we have to privilege one term over another ultimately to banish the inequality. It's much less practical to think up a whole new, gender neutral, term than it is to drop the recessive term in favour of the one we've privileged. But just take a look at the word we favour. In our promotion of actor, for example, we are acknowledging the superfluousness of the word actress. We are acknowledging that the feminine state was nothing more than a suffix to a male preference. All our progress looks, from this perspective, like a lot of running backwards - running with gusto, but not quite progress. And not equality. But a start. I do not think there is a solution to be found in privileging the feminine term either, I must stress that, my aim is not for an inverted form of sexism - patriarchy with a feminine hat (ouch - self-loather?) - I want equality.
And that's essentially it - no cure, no big fix because I don't think society is ready for what it would take to fix the inherent discrimination hardwired within our respective cultures. And, respect is key here. A lot of ands, but as me granny said, a lot of 'ands make light work. So it's not easy to remove the discrimination from language or to achieve equality through deconstructing binaries but it is what I advocate and what I believe in and what I believe we can all work together to achieve, AND before you criticise it - you taken a look at your beliefs lately?
Therefore, my thanks to Women Rule Writer, and to every woman who has stood up and been counted for her rights and beliefs. But here's to every other person who's been discriminated against, of whatever other gender, race, (choose own marker) variation because feminism is not just for women, it benefits us all - but can we have a fairer name?
PS. is fair regarded as a feminine word? If so, take that last line as irony. Balance things out.
Maybe someone can get me started on class distinctions - that's bound to amuse. Discrimination and oppression wear many hats but all smell the same to me.
I think I'd like to add to my comment there - but to put it here rather than gobbling up any more comments space there - and say that, for me, patriarchy is at its strongest and conversely least detected within our language system. I'm not suggesting we change the language or that it would be possible or acceptable to drop gender markers, for example, from it - though this would whittle down discrimination at least in the written form. Shock horror, I don't even have the answer! But I do strongly, passionately believe that our entire value system is flawed and language is where it's clearest to see the discrimination, though most often ignored, and where it is easiest to stop. However, we have to learn to recognise it.
Our entire language is an extension of patriarchy. We don't gender every word so we have a better chance than, say, the French to rectify this but we do have gender in the language. Fact. We have masculine and feminine. Pretty simple so far, pretty fair, nest-ce pas? OK but what I think happens, all too often, still (no I am not the first to note this nor do I claim to have some enlightened position on the situation here), is how the masculine word is favoured over the feminine. Waiter/waitress (caps omission deliberate). Think up a few binaries. Try it. I am aware that there's some work being done to address this imbalance - actor is now favoured over the actor/actress dichotomy - this is progress and it's as much as we can aim for in the now given that we have to privilege one term over another ultimately to banish the inequality. It's much less practical to think up a whole new, gender neutral, term than it is to drop the recessive term in favour of the one we've privileged. But just take a look at the word we favour. In our promotion of actor, for example, we are acknowledging the superfluousness of the word actress. We are acknowledging that the feminine state was nothing more than a suffix to a male preference. All our progress looks, from this perspective, like a lot of running backwards - running with gusto, but not quite progress. And not equality. But a start. I do not think there is a solution to be found in privileging the feminine term either, I must stress that, my aim is not for an inverted form of sexism - patriarchy with a feminine hat (ouch - self-loather?) - I want equality.
And that's essentially it - no cure, no big fix because I don't think society is ready for what it would take to fix the inherent discrimination hardwired within our respective cultures. And, respect is key here. A lot of ands, but as me granny said, a lot of 'ands make light work. So it's not easy to remove the discrimination from language or to achieve equality through deconstructing binaries but it is what I advocate and what I believe in and what I believe we can all work together to achieve, AND before you criticise it - you taken a look at your beliefs lately?
Therefore, my thanks to Women Rule Writer, and to every woman who has stood up and been counted for her rights and beliefs. But here's to every other person who's been discriminated against, of whatever other gender, race, (choose own marker) variation because feminism is not just for women, it benefits us all - but can we have a fairer name?
PS. is fair regarded as a feminine word? If so, take that last line as irony. Balance things out.
Maybe someone can get me started on class distinctions - that's bound to amuse. Discrimination and oppression wear many hats but all smell the same to me.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Unhurried IT
I almost forgot to mention, with all the pc wobbles I've had, my poem 'Inherited' was shortlisted for the 'University of Maine at Machias Eighth Annual Ultra-Short Competition' and will appear in the forthcoming issue of Binnacle. My thanks to Gerard NeCastro and congratulations to the winners and fellow honourees.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Ahem
I'd just lke to draw everyone's attention to a fantastic new zine venture for all who are inspired by vintage, thrift and fashion: Story Bought Dress
Here's what the blurb says:
Here's what the blurb says:
About
Monday, July 18, 2011
Ballad debt
Illustration by R J Fenton 2011
Click to enlarge
Having major pc woes folks - sparks, smoke and EVERYTHING! Would be exciting (and for my life that is all it takes) were it not for the fact that it is costing me. I wouldn't have bought a settee if I'd known my computer was listing. Many trips to local library are the order of the day. And who made orthodontists the yankers of the purse strings? My advice to my daughter is - should she ever have children of her own - choose a partner with perfect teeth...then again, if her partner's teeth were unmatching in a perfectly opposite way, would that....never mind.
On pearly whiter news - two poems, owing much to the ballad tradition, in the latest blackmail press. My sincere thanks to Liz Breslin and Laura Williamson.
Make a cuppa first. Warning, contains strong language. Best get a couple of biscuits, too....
Let me know what you think - always love your (honest) opinions.
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