Women's Voices For Change- Part 2

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper: “Aunt Chloe’s Politics,” and Marilyn Chin: “19th Amendment Ragtime Parade”

By Amanda Moore

Today’s poems continue the Poetry Sunday special series which, through November, will feature poems by women about voting, and about our country. They emphasize the urgency and potency of the vote, reminding us of the difficult paths many have walked to secure our representation.

News · Politics

Broadening Realities: Reading Kamala Harris’
Black and Indian Identity Through Image

By Kimiyo Bremer

Through photos of Kamala Harris as a multiracial, Indian-American, and Black-American woman, we recognize image as a tool to challenge popular ideas about what the Indian family looks like and desensationalize the experiences of multiracial people coming from two communities of color.

Film & Television

Netflix Revisits Manderley in New Film Rebecca

By Alexandra MacAaron

Whether it was a deliberate choice or a happy coincidence, I think the new 'Rebecca’s' raison d’etre is actually Kristin Scott Thomas as Mrs. Danvers.

Poetry

Evie Shockley: “women’s voting rights at one hundred (but who’s counting?)”

By Rebecca Foust

I love the poem for its assertion that voting always matters and that “a collectivity of votes . . . can really / make some noise.”

Film & Television

‘What the Constitution Means to Me’:
Heidi Schreck vs. The Founding Fathers

By Alexandra MacAaron

'What the Constitution Means to Me' will enlighten you on Constitutional theory. It will also deliver solid entertainment, heartfelt personal stories, sublime performances, and a taste of what we lost when live theater was shuttered seven months ago.

Poetry

“Life Line” by Ann Townsend

By Rebecca Foust

In these divided times I am grateful for poems like this to remind us of good things we may have taken for granted before—like just “getting” to sit in an uncomfortable folding chair in a school auditorium—and of the experiences many of us have in common.

Marriage & Life Partners

Five Marriage Myths Dispelled

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

Couples that fight a lot during the first years of marriage often have a better chance of staying together than those who sweep things “under the rug.”

Film & Television

‘The 40-Year-Old-Version’ Lives Up to Her Potential

By Alexandra MacAaron

Writer, director, producer, and star Radha Blank’s semi-autobiography of an artist’s early midlife crisis is smart and funny and simply great entertainment.

Poetry

Maw Shein Win’s ‘Storage Unit for the Spirit House’

By Amanda Moore

To enter the spirit houses, storage units, and myriad spaces Maw Shein Win opens for us in the pages of her new collection is to enter a universe where familiar objects and structures take on new shapes and significance.

Emotional Health

The Benefits of Change: Retiring, Relocating or Reinventing Yourself

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

There comes a time, though, when old habits and patterns are obsolete, or when circumstances change enough so that they don’t work the way they used to.

Film & Television

‘The Glorias’ — “Are We There Yet?”

By Alexandra MacAaron

'The Glorias,' an ambitious biopic, should have enjoyed a fruitful art house run, but like so many titles this year has just launched via video on demand. It’s based on Steinem’s 2015 bestselling memoir, 'My Life on the Road.'

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.

Emotional Health · Money & Careers

Women with Horrible Bosses

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

Almost everyone has had a bad boss, but it can be a dangerous problem if you are serious about your career. Especially if you are a woman.

Film & Television

‘I Am Woman’ — Not as Strong as it Might Have Been

By Alexandra MacAaron

'I Am Woman' is a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours. But it lacks the drama and depth of other rockstar biopics.

Poetry

A Juror Must Fold in on Herself
by Kathleen McClung

By Rebecca Foust

The hardest part of jury duty for me was being forbidden to talk about the trial until after our verdict. Writing poems months later helped restore the voice that had been silenced. —Kathleen McClung

Film & Television

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: An American Superhero — On the Bench and On the Screen

By Alexandra MacAaron

'On the Basis of Sex' and 'RBG' are entertaining and educational. The two films end on the same note — Ginsburg, although in her 80s, still had work to do.

Poetry

Gail Newman: “The Dispossessed” and “Two Tales”

By Amanda Moore

“The Dispossessed” and “Two Tales” are only two of many poems in 'Blood Memory' where Gail Newman navigates complex, painful territory with an incisive use of poetic craft and an abiding, enduring love for her family.

Emotional Health

The Journalistic Heroines of She Said :
How They Got the Story

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

'She Said' by The New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, uses the Harvey Weinstein case as its basis, but its subject is far larger. It is about fear, regret, intimidation, and courage. Above all, it is about the power of journalism.

Film & Television

‘Cuties’: Don’t Judge A Film By Its Poster

By Alexandra MacAaron

'Cuties' is complicated and at times disturbing, but not for the reasons cited by its critics. It’s an effective argument against exploitation, not exploitive in itself.

Poetry

Leticia Hernández-Linares:
“One Million Minus One” and “Despierta”

By Rebecca Foust

The poems in 'Mucha Muchacha, Too Much Girl' paint their own murals in words glowing with passion and conviction. There is also a good dose of sass, a quality visually captured in book’s cover photo.

Books · Politics

Sandra Day O’Connor—First Woman
on the Supreme Court

By Diane Vacca

'First: Sandra Day O’Connor' is a compelling biography by Evan Thomas. He celebrates O’Connor’s achievements and traces her unlikely trajectory from a dusty ranch in the Arizona desert to the Supreme Court—the pinnacle of the legal profession.

Film & Television

Tales of Women in Wartime

By Alexandra MacAaron

These masterful programs bring the war heroes (or, more precisely, heroines) behind the frontlines to life in memorable ways.

Poetry

“Pyriscence” by Angelique Zobitz

By Amanda Moore

As a Black Woman, I needed to tell this story of Black Women adapting, thriving, living, and/or dying in suboptimal conditions.

Emotional Health

The Bright Side: Doodling, Daydreaming and Forgetting — The Good Side of Tuning Out

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

Many of us have experienced how letting our minds wander for a bit may get us unstuck when we are trying to solve a problem. The brain areas that allow people to solve complex problems become more active during daydreaming.