Women's Voices For Change

Poetry

Poetry Sunday:
“Elegy with Civil War Shadowbox,”
by Jane Satterfield

By Rebecca Foust

“Elegy with Civil War Shadowbox” is a meditation on the challenges of memorializing war.

Arts & Culture

Women’s History Month: Read, Listen, Watch, Reflect

By Alexandra MacAaron

This Women’s History Month, we reflect on the achievements of women and girls across the centuries and pay tribute to the pioneers who paved the way.

Poetry

Martha Silano: “When I begin to dig”

By Rebecca Foust

“When I begin to dig” begins with what sparked the poem: Martha Silano’s discovery that the English word “verse” derives from Latin for “to turn,” itself derived from the action of a plow’s turn at the end of a furrow during field cultivation.

Film & Television

Oscar-Nominee Jessica Chastain in
‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’

By Alexandra MacAaron

Jessica Chastain's ability to create a whole and sympathetic person under a virtual, and sometimes seemingly immobile, mask is surely what her Oscar nomination is honoring (and for which she just won the SAG Award).

Film & Television

Midge Maisel is Back, But Not Bingeable

By Alexandra MacAaron

Mrs. Maisel may be back where she started — not just in her old club, but in her old apartment, and even (mini-spoiler here) back in jail. But this time, she’s taking no prisoners.

Poetry

Athena Kildegaard:
“a safe, well-defined, acceptable unknown”

By Rebecca Foust

In the poem’s last lines, “evidence” is a crucial word. Seeking “a safe, well-defined, acceptable unknown,” perhaps, we look for scientific validation of the mystery, a concept fundamentally not susceptible to this kind of metric.

Film & Television

How Women Fare in Super Bowl Ads

By Alexandra MacAaron

I’m happy to report that this year’s Super Bowl ads were less sexist than usual.

Poetry

MK Chavez: “Little Red Riding Hood/Companion”

By Amanda Moore

MK Chavez empowers Little Red Riding Hood, an innocent damsel in distress if ever there were one, by giving her autonomy over her body and destiny and, ultimately, recognizing her multiplicity.

Film & Television

A Streaming Guide to Black History Month

By Alexandra MacAaron

A list of powerful movies and television series depicting the Black American experience.

Poetry

Georgia Johnson Douglas: “Black Woman,” “Foredoom,” and “The Heart of a Woman”

By Rebecca Foust

In this week’s poems, the fixed forms and elevated diction sound archaic to contemporary ears, but their ideas were revolutionary in Georgia Douglas Johnson’s time and remain relevant today.

Film & Television

‘Single Drunk Female’

By Alexandra MacAaron

Clearly autobiographical but also both amusing and touching, 'Single Drunk Female' tells the story of a 20-something journalist who is smart and funny and addicted to alcohol

Poetry

Poetry Sunday: “Whosoever Holds This Hammer,”
by Dawn Manning

By Rebecca Foust

By the end of the poem the speaker wholly identifies with Thor, capable of destruction as well as creation and blessing, and the poem ends in a place of tremendous raw power and confidence with her joyfully striking the flat glowing disc of her “own sun.” What a wonderful affirmation of the act of creativity!

Film & Television

It’s Old Money vs. New in ‘The Gilded Age’

By Alexandra MacAaron

'The Gilded Age' raises questions of human nature and acute observations about so-called progress and the inevitability of change.

Poetry

Poetry Sunday: “Frances of the Cadillac,”
by Laura Van Prooyen

By Rebecca Foust

This poem reminds me that part of being human is living on to wrestle with the legacy left by the people we love who leave us, sometimes under circumstances we cannot accept or even understand.

Film & Television

‘Being the Ricardos’ Disappoints (But I’ll Always Love Lucy)

By Alexandra MacAaron

'Being the Ricardos' is a neat piece of filmmaking, but it didn’t make me feel I knew the couple any better than I had before.

Poetry

Raquel Vasquez Gilliland:
“The Tale of the Earth” and “The Tale of Spice”

By Rebecca Foust

Today’s poems are from a chapbook called "Tales from the House of Vasquez," winner of the 2018 Rattle Chapbook Prize, and they are representative of the book as a whole: 14 spare, free-verse poems about motherhood, feminism, family, and origin.

Film & Television

The Crushing Responsibility of Motherhood in
‘The Lost Daughter’

By Alexandra MacAaron

What’s rare, and exponentially more interesting, are films that reflect the full spectrum of motherhood, from dizzying love to what Leda in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s new movie 'The Lost Daughter' calls “crushing responsibility.”

Poetry

“Snorkeling,” by Allison Funk

By Rebecca Foust

The poem evocatively opens with a question: “What if, late in my life, / an old love returned?”

Film & Television

Betty White, It’s Been A Privilege

By Alexandra MacAaron

A tribute to Betty White.

Poetry

“Even Now” by Susan Zimmerman

By Rebecca Foust

Sometimes we rely on poetry as a sort of goad—to bear witness, expose evil or hypocrisy in others, or expose ourselves to ourselves.

Film & Television

Celebrating 2021’s Best Directors: Awards Season Begins

By Alexandra MacAaron

The new batch of Golden Globe nominees includes two female directors: Maggie Gyllenhaal for her celebrated first film 'The Lost Daughter' and Jane Campion for 'The Power of the Dog,' nearly 30 years after her nomination for 1994’s The Piano.

Film & Television

‘The Rise and Fall of LuLaRoe’ — Ugly Leggings and An Uglier Legacy

By Alexandra MacAaron

'The Rise and Fall of LuLaRoe' is thorough journalism and a satisfying, if often disturbing, feature-length watch.

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

‘And Just Like That,’ Carrie Bradshaw is Back

By Alexandra MacAaron

'And Just Like That' picks up on three of the foursome as they navigate midlife. Fear not, they still dress up, but they also have to deal with graying hair, moody teenage children, new media, hearing aids, diversity wokeness, and possibly alcoholism.