“Women, when you begin to make fierce sounds on your own, don’t be surprised if it’s difficult at first. Start gently. Get close to the earth. These sounds may bring up memories, emotions. Have a way to work with them…. Read More ›
Women’s Voices
Refrigerator Poetry by Kate Brunner
I am at such a loss over the state of things these days. What’s left for me seems to be a process of assessing where I have agency at this exact moment and of taking refuge in small things. After… Read More ›
I Believe Dr. Blasey Ford by Anjeanette LeBoeuf
I had a completely different post that I was going to submit for my FAR contribution this month, but that went out the window on Thursday September 27th with the Supreme Court Justice Nomination hearings of Brett Kavanaugh and the… Read More ›
Poem: #MeToo, We Re-Member by Marie Cartier
I need the grandmothers to help me re-member my rage. Cross stitch. Double knot. I sew it back on. The raggedy parts I let fly loose when I thought it was OK to not be “so angry.” “Boys will be… Read More ›
Singing up the Dawn, a poem by Sara Wright
My walk to the river is a joyful entrance into the eternal Now. The water flowing, crushed fresh mint, trilling bird song desert air so sweet my body vibrates drumming with all that is… Returning under the bowing… Read More ›
Kingdom of Women BOOK REVIEW by Katie M. Deaver
In her novel, Kingdom of Women, Rosalie Morales Kearns imagines a reality that is post-patriarchy, and post male violence while showing us what near-future women had to go through in order to get to that reality. Morales Kearns weaves this… Read More ›
Don’t Be Surprised… by Valentina Khan
We are people, navigating in a large world filled with expectations, hopes & dreams. I find that happiness is comprised when we share our expectations with other people. I do think it’s right to expect things, and hope to receive things… Read More ›
Review: In Search of Pure Lust, author Lise Weil by Sara Wright
In this remarkable memoir one woman’s life is set in the collective context of the women’s movement as a whole, and through Lise Weil’s eyes we get to see the “both and” quality of her struggle to understand the wound… Read More ›
What You Learn When Your Voice Shakes by Marisa Goudy
As I heard my voice rising over the half-eaten breakfast, something inside me began to splinter. “We cannot effectively ‘open lines of communication’ with racists and fascists!” I exclaimed. It was followed by an impassioned speech (perhaps you’d call it… Read More ›
A Curious Blessing by Natalie Weaver
A few years back, I turned forty years old. On the cusp of this landmark birthday, I wrote about the stigma of so-called midlife crises. I resisted the idea that changes associated with midlife should be mocked, when indeed many of… Read More ›
Women Can Change the World by Judith Shaw
These are dark days for those of us who believe in democracy, social justice, environmental stewardship/protection, and connectivity. A rise in authoritarian rulers – from the U.S. to pockets of Europe to Turkey and beyond – are threatening the values… Read More ›
Knowing my Voice through Writing by Elise M. Edwards
Over the summer, I’ve been writing more than I do during the traditional academic year when other tasks consume the bulk of my workday. I have spent more time experiencing the joy of creative discovery and production, but I’ve also… Read More ›
The Red Dress by Vibha Shetiya
It was my twelfth birthday and I was in New York vacationing with my parents and brother. New York was a world away from the sleepy town of Luanshya, Zambia where I was from (and which I loved). The noise,… Read More ›
Toil and Trouble (Part 4) by Barbara Ardinger
Read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. When the Amazons land in the capital city, they find themselves standing on the wide lawn in front of the Golden Tower in which El Presidente lives and rules. And look—El Presidente… Read More ›
Querying in the Context of Religion and Science by Sara Wright
How do we respect materialistic/mechanistic science – the myth of our time – when it continues to use non-human sentient beings for it’s own gain? How do we respect religions for the harm or damage that these beliefs may cause… Read More ›
Toil and Trouble (Part 3) by Barbara Ardinger
Continued from Part 2 The magical school bus, carrying twenty-seven young women, drives across two or three states almost as quickly as the magic carpet flew a few days ago. The bus seems to fly, guided by Bunbury and Icarus… Read More ›
An Open Letter to Mom by Natalie Weaver
Dear Mom, I want to take this opportunity to tell you I have learned so much from you over these years that I have been privileged to call you “mom.” I watch you, as you get older, as I also… Read More ›
Creating Women’s Circles that Heal and Enrich Our Lives by Anne Yeomans and the Women’s Well
From 1994 until 2012, the Women’s Well, based in Concord, Massachusetts, offered thousands of women the opportunity to participate in women’s circles of all kinds. In the first and second parts of this series, Anne Yeomans, a co-founder of the… Read More ›
“The Burning Lava of a Song” by Joyce Zonana
Aurora’s autobiographical narrative is a passionate paean to poets as the “only truth-tellers, now left to God”; she celebrates them as agents for personal and social transformation. As we come to the end of this National Poetry Month in the U.S., where truth is under siege, it’s worth recalling Aurora Leigh and its daring exploration of poetry, gender, divinity, and social justice.
Glimpses of Women in India by Elizabeth Cunningham
Recently I traveled in India with my husband who did doctoral research there 48 years ago. I had no goals of my own other than to be open. Back only a short while, I am still pondering the journey. Here… Read More ›
Walking Away from the Ivory Wall by Vanessa Soriano
Reading the brilliant post Another Brick in the Ivory Wall by Natalie Weaver brought back some old feelings about being an ex-academic who finally let go of the search. While the wound reopened a bit, I can honestly say that… Read More ›
Ritual Theory: Sharing Stories by Molly Remer
“Ritual that is alive encourages each person to touch what is sacred in their own way, in their own time, through their own unique experience. So there evolves a dynamic dance between guiding and shaping the group’s experience and encouraging and… Read More ›
Toil and Trouble (Part 2) by Barbara Ardinger
Continued from Part 1. “Mirror, mirror, on the table, Show us all that you are able…” The witch and her ad hoc coven and the ravens are leaning forward to see and hear more clearly what the mirror is showing… Read More ›
Centering Women’s Circles with Altars and Ritual by Anne Yeomans and the Women’s Well
From 1994 until 2012, the Women’s Well, based in Concord, Massachusetts, offered thousands of women the opportunity to participate in women’s circles of all kinds. Here, in their own words in the second of this three-part series, Anne Yeomans, a… Read More ›
Where Did She Go? A Slothful Seeking of the Divine by Cynthia Garrity-Bond
A week ago today was my birthday. I’m the same age as my mother when she died of a stroke some twenty-eight years ago. This past year has been marked by the deaths of close friends and family; most recently my… Read More ›
A Feminist Liturgy of Old and Age by Lache S.
How the voices speak of what is and isn’t tastes of a superficial sauce I let drip from my lips. In the first dialectic of aging (harkening back to Marie Cartier’s helpful division of conversational foci), usually what is spoken… Read More ›
The Power of the Women’s Circle by Anne Yeomans and the Women’s Well
Women’s Well Series ( 1 of 3) From the most ancient times, women have gathered in circles to transform themselves, their communities and nations, and the world. Today, when millions of women are finding their voices, when they are joining with… Read More ›
“Womenspiration” for International Women’s Day by Elise M. Edwards
Happy International Women’s Day! I hope it is a happy day for you as we recognize women’s achievements throughout the world. Our FAR community is not only for or about women, but as feminists in some form or another, collectively… Read More ›
Time Traveling Letter to Kids of the 70s (especially you, Natalie) by Natalie Weaver
Hmmm…. Time Travel? Maybe, I suppose. I recall a strange video clip in which Steven Hawking throws a Time Travelers’ Party. He sends an invitation for a fancy soiree, holds the event, and sets the scene where future folk will… Read More ›
Let’s Keep Dancing by Esther Nelson
My children remember when they were in elementary school, I played Simon and Garfunkel’s popular song, “I am a Rock” (written by Paul Simon), several times daily. I loved it. Stark and sad, yet brutally honest, the song reflected an… Read More ›
