Women's Voices For Change

Netflix Review: ‘Pretend It’s a City’

By Alexandra MacAaron

Every conversation comes back again and again to New York, which — despite decades of change and her own growing vexation — Fran Lebowitz is obviously deeply in love with.

Health

Getting Women Workers the COVID Vaccine Could Pose a Complex Challenge, Experts Warn

By Editor @ Women's Voices

Barriers such as paid time off, transportation and child care make frontline workers — who are disproportionately women — particularly tough to reach.

Poetry

Tara Betts: “What Bucks or Breaks”

By Amanda Moore

Today’s featured poem, “What Bucks or Breaks” by Tara Betts, is a wonderful example of how a poem’s structure can enhance its meaning.

Film & Television

Hollywood News: The (Relative) Upside of a Down Year

By Alexandra MacAaron

Women directors saw significant growth, helming 16% of the top 100 films, up from 12% in 2019 and a deplorable 4% in 2018. There was also steady improvement for women directing the top 250 films, with 18% in 2020, in contrast to 13% in 2019 and 8% in 2018.

Poetry

Marvin Bell Tribute

By Susan Cohen

I wrote this poem to be included in a tribute volume for Marvin Bell, who died last month at 83. “Dead Woman Poem for Marvin Bell” honors him as an exceptional teacher of poetry and also purloins his invented form—what he called his Dead Man poems. —Susan Cohen

Film & Television

Building a Brave New Life in ‘Herself’

By Alexandra MacAaron

Intimately and respectfully directed by Phyllida Lloyd, 'Herself' tells the story of Sandra, a working-class Irish woman who has two angelic daughters and a monster for a husband.

Health

Survey shows COVID-19 is disproportionately harming women’s mental health

By Editor @ Women's Voices

About 57 percent of women said their mental health had been negatively affected, compared to 44 percent of men.

Poetry

Chloe Martinez: “In Delhi”

By Amanda Moore

The poem is a love song both to my husband and to a city that I find endlessly fascinating and frustrating, and that I miss, especially in this travel-free year. —Chloe Martinez

Film & Television

The Many Faces of Meryl: ‘Let Them All Talk’
and ‘The Prom’

By Alexandra MacAaron

If 'Let Them All Talk' forced Streep to meditate a bit on what it means to reach a pinnacle yet continue to strive for one’s art, 'The Prom' gave her permission to just have fun. She seems to be having a ball, and her voice has never sounded — or, I should say, “belted” — better.

Poetry

Naomi Shihab Nye: “Snow”

By Rebecca Foust

Because this poem invites us to read it as metaphor, it was a short leap to consider the poem’s application to our country’s current political crisis, neither side really talking to the other, grievances swamping us like a ‘snowpocalypse.’

Film & Television

‘Bridgerton’: The Raunchy Regency Romp from Shonda Rhimes

By Alexandra MacAaron

'Bridgerton' is a sumptuous and utterly bingeable pleasure.

Poetry

Emily Dickinson: Winter Poems

By Rebecca Foust

Another source of solace has been poetry; reading, studying, and writing it has been the heartbeat of my days. With that in mind, this week’s column will present some poetry for you: a selection of winter poems by Emily Dickinson

Film & Television

Have Yourself a Streaming Little Christmas

By Alexandra MacAaron

This year, with so many of us spending the season safe at home, it’s a great time to revisit childhood treasures, rewatch classic titles, or discover new ones.

Health

How the Pandemic is Affecting Senior Women

By Editor @ Women's Voices

Older women tend to live longer and live alone. For some, a pandemic that encourages sheltering in place leaves them feeling “entrapped” and “like a hermit.”

Poetry

Myra Viola Wilds: “Thoughts”

By Amanda Moore

“Thoughts” strikes me as a perfect poem to consider around the end of one year or the beginning of another as we take stock of what has come to pass, and make plans and resolutions for the future.

Film & Television

‘Farewell Amor’: An Immigrant Family of Strangers’ Story

By Alexandra MacAaron

'Farewell Amor' begins at New York’s JFK airport. Walter is waiting for the arrival of his wife, Esther and teenaged daughter Sylvia. They’ve been apart for 17 years, since Sylvia was a baby. Other than phone calls, she doesn’t know her father. They all realize that they’ve become strangers.

Poetry

Amy M. Clark: “The Survival Kit”

By Rebecca Foust

In 2020, the survival kit metaphor takes on other dimensions as we come to the end of a year that has felt relentless and full of sorrow.

Marriage & Life Partners

The Covid Marriage

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

The enforced togetherness required by social distancing has led couples to spend more time together than usual, a lot of it. And even for those that have strong, solid relationships, it’s been, well, a bit more than they’d like.

Film & Television · Poetry

Happy Birthday, Emily Dickinson! Celebrate the Poems and the Poet, On Demand

By Alexandra MacAaron

Later this week, December 10, will be Emily Dickinson’s birthday. Her prolific work and her reclusive life have inspired readers and writers for more than a century.

Poetry

Alicia Ostriker: “Ghazal: America the Beautiful”

By Amanda Moore

Today’s poem by Alicia Ostriker reminds us of “our earnestness our sincerity / in first grade when we learned” the song, suggesting that such qualities might be part of why these lyrics stick with us so long.

Emotional Health

Accepting Imperfection by Embracing Flaws

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

Flaws are inimical to perfection, of course, and yet when you love someone, it is not in spite of their flaws. You accept and even cherish your loved one’s less perfect features, even though you have trouble extending that same attitude to yourself.

Film & Television

‘HAPPIEST SEASON’: CHRISTMAS IN THE CLOSET

By Alexandra MacAaron

Historically, holiday movies have been about white heterosexual women finding love in time for Christmas in the arms of white heterosexual men. Hopefully, 'Happiest Season' will pave the way for more (and better) LGBTQ+ stories possible in the future.

Poetry

Allison Adelle Coke Hedge:
“America, I Sing You Back”

By Amanda Moore

In “America, I Sing You Back,” to frame America as a child who makes mistakes “as any child might do” is ultimately to offer the possibility of redemption and restoration.

Film & Television

‘The Crown and the Windsors’: Royally Entertaining

By Alexandra MacAaron

Season four of 'The Crown' may well be the series’ most ambitious to date. And it comes at a most welcome time. As we head into winter and new stay-at-home orders, we can take comfort in the steadiness of an institution as unwavering — for better or worse — as the British monarchy.