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Women's Writing Topics

© Roxianne Moore

The Focus is on Writing, Not Just Women

I feel I really must apologize for the lateness of this article. All last week, I was laid up with ‘flu (actually some nameless virus lodged between cold and ‘flu in the doctor's diagnostic dictionary). I found to my dismay that my brain doesn't work very well when I'm fevered and can't breathe. I did try to write, but even in my less-than-alert state, I realized that what I was writing was worse than nonsense.

I figured I owed it to my fellow editors on Suite 101.com to get my brain fully in gear before I tried to review their sites. I'm glad I waited; this week's topics deserve my full attention.

Women's Poetry by Kay Day is one of the best poetry sites I've seen in a while.

Despite the title of this topic, you'll find more than just Women's Poetry here. Discussions on poetry in general, the business side of poetry, and alternative markests are helpful for any aspiritng poet. The focus isn't just on beginners, either, but anyone who writes poetry for publication or pleasure.

Recent articles include:

• Uncommon Mentors
• Free Poetry Now
• You Can Publish Poetry

I especially liked her discussion of the state of Poetry in America. Unfortunately, I have to agree that poetry is not for the masses anymore, nor has it been for many years. Children no longer memorize poems in school (or so I've heard; my son's kindergarten teacher has her class memorize at least one poem a month). For this reason, I've decided to teach poetry and creative writing in local schools. At first, I may have to volunteer my time. That's fine. I've begun to feel so strongly that we must foster the love of writing at an early age, and what better way to induce a love of words than to teach poetry? As Ms. Day reminds us, poetry is more than just the baring of our souls. We must make our poetry accessible for others, not just by publishing in some obscure university journal, but in making our poems speak to the average citizen. Maybe by moving beyond the esoteric poesy of the literary magazine, we can move poetry back into the public realm. And that, I believe, is where it belongs.

Dorothy Harris' topic, African American Women's Literature focuses more clearly on women writers. In the few months she's been editing this topic, she's looked at:

• Zora Neale Hurston
• Toni Morrison