Women Write Resistance

One of the most pernicious forms of violence enacted against women is the silencing of those who have been violated and abused. The poems in Women Write Resistance: Poets Resist Gender Violence constitute a collective shout of alarm and defiance in the face of such silencing. The voices are rich in power, nuance, raw honesty, and unquestionable grace and beauty. This generous and ambitious anthology is a gathering of necessary and affirming poems written by some of the best poets writing in America today.

~ Kwame Dawes
author of Duppy Conqueror (Copper Canyon Press, 2013)
editor of Prairie Schooner

Recent events such as Congress’ failure to renew the Violence Against Women Act, or politicians’ ignorant statements about rape, or the US press’ shock over rape in India (as if such things do not happen in the U.S.) all demonstrate the pressing need for continuing education about violence against women. Women Write Resistance: Poets Resist Gender Violence is the perfect resource for such education, ideal for use in introductory and advanced Gender and Women’s Studies courses. The more than 100 poems give fresh insight into women’s experience of various types of violence– war, rape, domestic abuse, incest, intimidation— and their social contexts, while reflecting on root causes of violence, methods of resistance, and visions for a world without violence. The overall effect of women’s voices is powerful, moving the reader beyond the dichotomy of victim versus survivor, to resistance through words and action. The critical introductory essay draws on recent feminist theory to reflect on how this transformation occurs through such techniques as breaking silence, disrupting traditional narratives, language sassing, and the strategic use of anger. The book reminds everyone that violence against women is still unfortunately a prominent part of our society, while giving tools that enhance understanding and resistance.

~ Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy,
editor of Women’s Studies for the Future (Rutgers, 2005)
co-author of Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold (Routledge, 1993)

Women Write Resistance draws us into a world of pain and oppression, but also hope. Words often fail to describe the violence women endure. However, through poetry, these women capture the trauma experienced by so many. The stories of abuse painted in the poems leave a haunting legacy and dare us to stand up against the violence. Their survival and courage to speak out gives us hope that change can happen.

~ Nancy Berns,
author of Framing the Victim: Domestic Violence Media and Social Problems (Aldine Transaction, 2004)
Closure (Temple University, 2011)

Watch the WWR trailer

Follow @womenresist

Listen to mp3s of WWR poems
(some of the mp3s from KPFA
“Open Book: Poet to Poet“)

Preface to Women Write Resistance
Ellen Bass
Gail Entrekin
Rebecca Foust’s poem 1
Rebecca Foust’s poem 2
Judy Juanita Susan Kelly-DeWitt
Ellariane Lockie
Claire Ortalda
Judy Wells poem 1
Judy Wells poem 2
Andrena Zawinski’s poem 1
Andrena Zawinski poem 2

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Laura Madeline Wiseman