I don’t know about you, but I’m welcoming March with open arms! I can at least pretend that spring is here. It’s a psychological boost, even if it isn’t reality. You might expect that the March newsletter would focus on spring, tulips and Easter lilies popping up, and thecontinuing cycle of the seasons. But March is also Women’s History month. That piqued my curiosity. Why March? Was March just a vacant month with no other importantevents to commemorate? So, I went to the encyclopedia of the internet, Wikipedia, anddid some research. It turns out that the celebration of Women’s History month owes alot to a woman whose name has been largely forgotten.
Women’s History Month stems from International Women’s Day which is celebrated onMarch 8. The first known version of International Women’s Day was in New York in 1909organized by the Socialist Party of America at the suggestion of Theresa Malkiel, anAmerican suffragist, educator, and labor activist. She was born in Russia to Jewishparents. Her family emigrated to the Lower East Side of New York City in 1891. At theage of 17, she went to work in the garment industry. She rose from working in thegarment district to prominence in the American Socialist Party. She wrote a novel in1910, Diary of a Shirtwaist Striker, which is credited with reforming labor laws in NewYork. She became the head of the Women’s National Committee of the Socialist Partyof America. Malkiel believed that only through socialism could women achieve equality.However, over time she became disenchanted with the socialist movement becausealthough it gave lip service to the idea of equality of men and women, the members did not do anything to achieve it. She was also appalled that white socialists were practicingsegregation. She devoted much of her life to advocating for immigrant women, helpingthem with naturalization and education. She was an author of numerous pamphlets andessays on what she called “the woman question.” She wrote for The ProgressiveWoman, the International Socialist Review, and The New York Call, a journal that shefounded with her husband. The power of the written word!
On March 8, 1917 (February 23 on the Julian calendar), women textile workers in Petrograd began a demonstration demanding the end of WWI, food shortages, and czarism. Thiseventually led to the second Russian Revolution. Seven days after the demonstrationTzar Nicholas II abdicated, and the provisional government gave women the right tovote. The power of women! National Women’s Day was primarily celebrated incommunist countries until the 1960’s. The concept was revived in the United States inthe 1960’s probably because of the feminist movement which was focusing onreproductive rights, equal pay, and increased opportunities for women. It graduallyevolved into what it is now, National Women’s History month. Over time, it has lost itsinitial connection with socialism partly because the movement wanted to distance itselffrom socialism and partly because people forget the past.
Throughout history there have been women who pushed the envelope, whether it meantholding families together against tremendous odds, fighting inequality, or pushing for a better quality of life. I don’t have to look far to find that in my own family. My maternalgrandmother, Mary Ruth, lost her husband to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in 1932when he was 36 years old. She was left with 4 daughters between the ages of 6 and 14living on a farm. She had never held a job outside of farm life and motherhood, but shefinished his term as a tax collector and then was elected to the office the next year. Shewas the first woman elected to office in Carroll County, Kentucky. She sold the farm andmoved her family to the big city of Carrollton. She taught me how to sew, how to growroses, the importance of always having dessert after supper, and to stand strong wheneverything seems overwhelming. She was the quintessential strong southern woman.
We all have women heroes. Who are yours?
~Colleen Ryan
Photo byJoanna Kosinska on Unsplash
UPCOMING MEETINGS
We meet on the second Tuesday of each month from 6:30 to 8:30 in a Louisville public library.
Persons interested in membership are welcome to attend two meetings before paying the $50 annual membership fee.
Our Tuesday, March 12 member meeting will begin at 6:30 PM at the St. Matthews library branch at 3940 Grandview Avenue.
If you are interested in receiving a peer critique on March12,please bring 8 printed copies of the manuscript you want us to read. No more than 1300 words (4 to 4.5 pages double-spaced)for prose (excerpts of longer pieces welcome), or two pages of poetry. Let us know you’d like to share your writing by noon onTuesday, March12 by email:
On April 9, we’ll meet at the Northeast Branch of the Louisville public library – in the Maker Kitchen - and celebrate Poetry Monthwith a focus on…. poetry! Our April writing prompt will (we hope) inspire the poet in you.
On May 14, we're back at the St. Matthews library branch with a special fiction workshop: Making Magic with Your Words: Writing Lyrical Prose. So often as writers, we struggle to make our prose come to life and sound magical on the page. Come join Angela Jackson-Brown as she guides you through techniques to write evocative prose, showing you how to view every sentence as a story, in and of itself.
Photo by Oleksandr Gamaniuk on Unsplash
THE WRITING PROMPT
In tribute to Women’s History month, our writing prompt focuses on our women heroes. Think about a woman you view as a hero. She may be someone close to you or someone you’ve never met. Why do you admire her? What makes her brave or courageous or noble? Think about her specific characteristics, strengths (or vulnerabilities), achievements, qualities, or even quirks that make her especially heroic in your eyes.Think about how she has made a positive impact on you. Then write your hero a letter, tellingher what you admire and why, and thanking her for the impact she’s made on your life. You might even send it to her!
Photo by Shelby Miller on Unsplash
WE WANT TO SUPPORT YOUR WRITING LIFE
Members, if you have a website or social media platform dedicated to your writing, share it with us so we can share it with our Women Who Write community. Send your details to and we will share in a future newsletter.
Members, write a poem, story, or essay for the Women Who Write website blog.No more than 2,000 words, please. Publishing on our blog will expand your writing platform. And you’ll help WWW show off the variety of talents within our writing community! Browse our web blog now!For more information, email and pitch your story or poem—the one you’ve written or the one you want to write! We may provide suggested edits, for flow and clarity.
The Bluegrass Writers Coalition is hosting its annual Conference of Writers on April 27 in Frankfurt. For more information, click here.
The Carnegie Center in Lexington has writing class and workshops (some are virtual), plus the Books in Progress Conference will take place May 30-June 2, with keynote speaker, George Ella Lyon. For more information, about the conference, click here. For classes, workshops, and more, go here.
Sarabande Books presents a ‘Zine Lunch most Fridays at noon—it’s a free online workshop on micro-writing and art. More information about future ‘Zine Lunches here.
Gotham Writers in New York hosts a Zoom write-in on Friday afternoons, in addition to a wide range of online classes. For more info, go here.
Submit a story to Landslide Lit(erary) on Medium.com, a publication edited by two WWW members—Kimberly Crum and Bonnie Omer Johnson—who will provide editorial suggestions. Here are the submission guidelines.
Duotropeis a fabulous resource for writers who want to publish in literary journals and anthologies and enter contests. You will receive a listing of submission opportunities in your inbox, specifically for your genre. Learn more here. Cost is $5 per month or $50 per year.
Submittable is another terrific resource for publication and other opportunities for writers. Many publications require submissions to be submitted through this service. Also, it’s free! See more here.
HerStryliterary essay/memoir blog seeks to empower women through their writing. Find submission information here. In addition to accepting personal essay submissions four times per year, HerStry accepts submissions on “monthly themes” that are intended as prompts for writers to tell their stories. Upcoming themes include Second Chances (due 2/1) and Keep Moving (3/1).
Poets and Writers has an extensive list of literary magazines to which you can submit. Learn more here.
Sky Island Journal isan online journal that publishes emerging and established writers. Prefers flash fiction and creative nonfiction (less than 1,000 words) and poetry. Submissionsinformation ishere.
Consider writing for Chicken Soup for the Soul. Some upcoming themes include The Power of Positive Thinking, Angels, Dogs, Cats, and Funny Stories. Learn more here.
Consider submitting to Dorothy Parker’s Ashes, an online magazine of personal essays with thetagline, “Brazen words by witty dames. Everything true. More or less.”Learn more here.
Thimble Literary is “based on the belief that poetry is like armor. Like a thimble, it may be small and seeminglyinsignificant, but it will protect us when we are most vulnerable.” The online journal publishes quarterly. Find out more here.
The Blue Mountain Reviewpublishes poetry, nonfiction,and fiction, on a rolling basis, for publication in this quarterly print journal. Blue Mountain Review is a Southern publication, but, they say, “we do not define the boundaries of that interpretation. That is up to you, the artist . . .” Find out more here.
SUPPORT OUR WRITING COMMUNITY!
Become a member or renew your membership—As a community, WWW strives to nurture your writing life. We hope you choose to join or renew as a member and participate in our monthly meetings, author talks, retreats, and workshops. Our membership coordinator will notify anyone due to renew. Regular annual membership is $50. Student annual membership is $25.Scholarships are available. Membership entitles you to discounts on workshops and retreats.
Attend our monthly member meetings on the second Tuesday of each month for a brief program, peer critiques, and conversations about the writing life. Not currently a member? You can attend two meetings before deciding to join.
