>Women are
>encouraged to think of themselves collectively rather than as individuals.
Women have always been "encouraged" to think of themselves in terms of
their sexuality rather than their individuality; that sexuality in turn
has been either demonised (cf Malleus Maleficarum) or woven into twee
"femininity": shaped, in any case, in ways which lead to blankness. When
I hear phrases like "female voice" I sniff the same old trap again - and
yes, there it is decorated with love hearts and smelling of lavender -
and at the end is the same old pile of laundry -
I can't see how sex is any less restricting than any other human
classification, such as class. Finding your way to the silence which
precedes poetry might be, I suspect, more of a maze for women than it is
for men: and when you get there, it's still silence. But all this is
very complex and it's early in the morning here.
Poetry surely seeks to destroy that artificial line between "intellect"
and "emotion". It's feeling intelligence or intelligent passion.
Best
Alison
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