35 years ago the new woman-only publishing venues were needed as a corrective in a male-dominated publishing climate. Very few poems by women were being selected for publication then, certain of women's themes were not considered important, and very few woman poets were considered canonical, either. At Harriet recently, Annie Finch made the astonishing point that those dubbed canonical were almost, to a woman, spinsters or lesbians. Moore, Bishop, that lot. I hadn't previously smelled that particular elephant in the room. Then again, anyone who's read Sylvia Plath's journals realizes what a furious interior struggle Plath had, committed as she was to being a flaming heterosexual (I be wry) in that not-so-distant past when the less like a "traditional" woman you were, the greater your chances of success.
Times have changed and it's legitimate to question whether woman-only ventures aren't perhaps superfluous, in the U.S. especially. But then, read Annie again, over at Harriet. Evidently, sexism is alive and well in the UK publishing community. Other places on this earth are only beginning to rethink women's traditional roles. Acid is thrown on the faces of young girls just for studying! Recently some work of mine appeared in an international anthology titled "Not a Muse" and subtitled "The Inner Lives of Women." The editors intend the book to be a beacon for women everywhere, and especially in countries where the gender divide remains rigid and women don't yet have a voice.
Maybe soon this planet of ours will stop putting obstacles in the way of woman's full potential but until that happens women will continue to organize for justice, poetic and otherwise. One can hold that idea in the mind while still acknowledging the positive changes that have already occurred and celebrating the vast improvement in publishing opportunities for women.
|
Threaded Mode
