Women's Voices For Change

Jane Hirshfield: “Today, When I Could Do Nothing”

By Rebecca Foust

In the poem, the speaker finds the confines of her small shelter-in-place space invaded by a visitor in the form of—an ant. But Jane Hirshfield takes the opposite view, welcoming the tiny creature into her home and then rescuing it to release it again outside.

Books · Sex & Sexuality

“Three Women:” An Intimate Portrait of Intimacy

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

Maggie, Lina and Sloane are their names. In 'Three Women,' writer Lisa Taddeo takes a close, extremely detailed, and graphic look at their sex lives.

Health

Doing Our Part in a Time of Uncertainty

By Patricia Yarberry Allen, M.D.

I did lots of listening last week. I heard that everyone wanted to do the right thing but many are understandably anxious about what this abrupt change in how we suddenly have to conduct our lives now will mean.

Poetry

Catherine Abbey Hodges:
“Glosa on Lines from Peter Everwine”

By Susan Cohen

Catherine Abbey Hodges points us to the work of her friend and mentor, Peter Everwine, in what is both elegy and homage in an uncommon, traditional form called a glosa or glossa—which aims to take something good and incorporate it into something also good but different.

Books · Emotional Health

Two Books About Brave Heroines Finding Their Way Out of Abuse

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

"The Great Alone" and "The Female Persuasion" enrich our understanding about how women are lost and how they are found.

Film & Television

Women’s Voices on the Small Screen: A Half-Dozen Shows to Watch

By Alexandra MacAaron

Support women's work on some of the best shows streaming on the on-demand services Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and Disney+.

Health

For Those on the Frontlines of Covid-19

By Patricia Yarberry Allen, M.D.

To all those who are on the frontlines: "You are all heroes and we must commit to providing you with the equipment you need to stay safe and enable you to provide the best care possible during this pandemic."

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.

Emotional Health

Staying Sane While Staying Healthy

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

During this crisis, stay actively engaged in directing your daily life in a healthy manner. It will help you feel less helpless.

Film & Television

“Hillary’: Love Her, Hate Her, Know Her Better

By Alexandra MacAaron

'Hillary" presents a more complete and much more intimate portrait of someone who has the distinction of being at once the most admired and the most vilified woman of our time.

Health

Tests for the novel 2019 Coronavirus and Testing of Americans

By Patricia Yarberry Allen, M.D.

Until the federal government's new plan to work with private industry actually delivers millions of testing kits to hospitals and labs and we develop drive through stand alone testing units, it will be almost impossible for a patient to have this test, even with symptoms and high risk exposure.

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.

Health

Yes, Illness is a Feminist Issue

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

When women complain of pain and/or illness we are less likely to be taken seriously than when men do. Consequently, many illnesses have been slow to gain medical attention, especially those whose victims are mostly women.

Film & Television

‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’:
Love Lives in the Female Gaze

By Alexandra MacAaron

Céline Sciamma has described her latest film, 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire,' as a "manifesto on the female gaze."

Health

Daylight Saving Time and Its Impact on Our Sleep

By Patricia Yarberry Allen, M.D.

We are in an unprecedented moment of global crisis as we navigate COVID-19. We need to be rested since sleep improves our immune system.

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.

Divorce & Widowhood

Divorce: Coping with Extreme Stress

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

Divorce, even when you know it is the right thing to do, is one of the most stressful life events people face.

Film & Television

‘Emma.’ — Hollywood Revisits Austen
(and Delights Us) Again

By Alexandra MacAaron

The latest Austen to grace the big screen is Autumn de Wilde's 'Emma.' The period — or "full stop," as the Brits call it — is part of the title because, as the director disingenuously explains, "It's a period drama."

Ask Dr. Pat

Insomnia: 12 Steps to Improve Sleep

By Patricia Yarberry Allen, M.D.

Over half of Americans suffer from sleep problems in any given year. Fortunately, there are a number of steps you can take to help improve your sleep.

Health

“After Being Asked if I Write the ‘Occasional Poem’” by Kimiko Hahn

By Rebecca Foust

This is an invocation to witness and to acknowledge our shared responsibility for what happened to a little girl seeking refuge and who died days after entering US custody.

Sex & Sexuality

When It’s the Man With the Low Libido

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

The cliché of the wife who puts off her husband, pleading that she has a “headache,” is well known. However, many men suffer from low libido as well.

Film & Television

‘The Photograph,’ An Intelligent Love Story, Then and Now

By Alexandra MacAaron

'The Photograph,' which is decidedly romantic, but not at all sappy, takes place in New York and New Orleans, today and in the 1980s.

Ask Dr. Pat

Congestive Heart Failure in Women

By James A. Blake, M.D.

This week’s post addresses the concerns of a 53-year old woman who has suffered heart failure. Dr. James Blake, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, describes the diagnosis and treatment of early congestive heart failure, especially in women.

Poetry

“litany” and “Inevitable” by Mahogany Browne

By Rebecca Foust

“litany” opens with a bold and simple statement of identity—“today i am a black woman in America”—then moves into an ironic “lullaby” about what that means for too many such women.