Something Rhymed: celebrating female literary friendship

A Year of Hidden Friendships

When we first launched Something Rhymed, a year ago now, concerned well-wishers expressed scepticism about whether we’d discover twelve pairs of historic female writer friends to profile each month over the course of 2014. Thanks to our close-knit community of readers from around the globe, the reverse has in fact been true. You’ve helped us… Continue reading A Year of Hidden Friendships

Press & Reviews · Something Rhymed: celebrating female literary friendship

Double-Page Spread in the Independent on Sunday

‘Feel the Fear & Do It Anyway’: This was the headline of the feature on female friendship that I co-wrote with Emily Midorikawa for the Independent on Sunday. Why would such a celebratory subject attract this kind of headline? We focused specifically on friendships between feminists, and we’ve come to think that perhaps intellectual, political, and… Continue reading Double-Page Spread in the Independent on Sunday

The Memoir Garden

A Garden Full of Memories

I am proud to announce that last night Councillor Allan Lawson, Mayor of Dacorum Borough Council, opened Sunnyside Rural Trust’s memorial garden. This beautiful and innovative space is a physical representation of the poems in The Memoir Garden, the collection that documents my Arts Council writing residency with Sunnyside Rural Trust. Each poem is comprised of the… Continue reading A Garden Full of Memories

The Memoir Garden

Anything else you think we should know?

When I came to evaluate my Arts Council Memoir Garden residency, it struck me that people with learning disabilities are subject to endless evaluation by social workers and carers, doctors and auditors. The official language and value judgements of such forms threaten to strip people with learning disabilities of their humanity. As a way to… Continue reading Anything else you think we should know?

Something Rhymed: celebrating female literary friendship

Launch of Something Rhymed

I hope your 2014 is off to a good start. I’m marking the New Year with the launch of a website, Something Rhymed. It is about famous female writing friendships, and it is a joint venture with my own close writer friend, Emily Midorikawa. Each month, we’ll be profiling a different pair of famous writer friends… Continue reading Launch of Something Rhymed