On Sunday afternoon March 8, over 25 women gathered at the Writers Center to read from the work of their favorite women writers. As the event began the room filled up with more people, some who came just to listen. Chairs were set up in two large circles, one inside the other and each woman read from her seat, either sitting or standing. It was a vigorous and stirring two hours as men and women listened to a century of writing from women — poets, historians, activists, novelists and essayists. Host Dorothy Nelson spoke about the history of International Women’s Day. She asserted, “Things have changed for women in many parts of the world but hardly everywhere. Yet this day is not only about or for women. It is foremost about the idea of equality, and the common concerns of all humans. It’s a subversive day, it touches on issues of money and power, who has it and who doesn’t, and raises deeply moral questions about the value of life and the way we see each other, the way we treat each other, and how we connect to each other and the world around us.”
What a wonderful event. Some profound, healing connections made and most of all this wonderful sense of positive feminine energy deeply rooted and ready to flower again. – Annie Thomas
List of writers whose words were read on International Women’s Day:
Marge Piercy
Mary Oliver
Shirley Sherrod
Gwendolyn Brooks
Meridel Le Sueur
Marianne Moore
Jane Kenyon
Arundhati Roy
Susan B. Anthony
Djuna Barnes
Elizabeth Bishop
Wendy Cope
J.K. Rowling
Jamaica Kincaid
Tillie Olson
Eleanor Roosevelt
Rosemary Haughton
Kathryn Hepburn
Anais Nin
Linda Greenlaw
Charlotte Muse
Denise Levertov
Sarah Orne Jewett