Feminaissance, a new anthology of women’s experimental essays, poetry and fiction, includes the work of renowned Los Angeles African American poet Wanda Coleman. I had a chance to speak with her recently about her writing and her feminism.
MONTEI: What role do you think women’s writing has played in the feminist movement?
COLEMAN: I remain a believer in the power of creative writing to change, heal and transform. Women’s writing will forever remain an important resource and wellspring. At its finest, it inspires, deepens and prolongs the ongoing dialogue around issues worldwide, often immeasurably affecting social change. These changes may seem incremental–we are still counting the first woman to do this or that—and they may come too late for the majority, but they have come and will continue to come despite occasional political reversals and social upheavals. If there had not been a Sylvia Plath, an Ann Petry, a Tillie Olsen and a Joan Didion, there would be no Wanda Coleman.
In your poem “Rape” [included in Feminaissance] you are unwavering in your raw depiction of a woman’s abuse. It humanizes the dehumanized, which you’ve said is a specific aim of your writing.
There’s a devilish element in my selection of the crude language and graphic narrative of this poem. Some readers will have a visceral response; they will identify with the victim and actually feel raped. That was my intent. I also wanted to go against the prevailing platitudes about rape that often cause naïve women to get themselves killed—believing that trying to fight off a man who outweighs you by 50 to 200 pounds is the wisest tactic. As a young woman, I never thought twice about going blow-for-blow, toe-to-toe with a man, because I’m a big woman. But after enough busted lips and black eyes, I figured there must be more viable alternatives. Even if you’re exposed to STDs, it is still better “to live to fight another day.”
Do you set out to write pieces about sociopolitical issues?
I begin with the advice at the core of traditional writing courses: Write what you know. My content is usually inspired by the day-to-day events that go on around me as I move through time and space. They may happen to me, someone close to me, or I may observe them in close proximity. Often, a line or phrase I’ve saved triggers a poem in retrospection. Then I draw on the basic questions of journalism: who, what, where, when, why and how. Style is usually my last consideration as I reshape and revise my material—using the vernacular coupled with what I know of figurative language.
I think many feminists often feel overwhelmed by the deep-seeded systemic oppression we face. Are there specific actions or avenues you encourage women to take to incite change?
Remember the phrase “support network?” Make the effort to develop or join one that addresses your needs. Such a group needn’t exclude enlightened men. Also, sustain and maintain—that is, mental and emotional health are as important as physical health. Take care with both; good health sustains activism. And don’t think about it—do it! This is something my father used to bark at me. Now I bark it at myself. The little girl inside me no longer shrinks. She understands that too much talk and the subsequent inaction it often generates may be disastrous when matters are urgent.
Above: Wanda Coleman. Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/beyondbaroque/ / CC BY-SA 2.0
This interview appeals to me on several levels: I am an artist, feminist, rape survivor, networker and disabled since middle age (by CFS/ME). I have been delighted to have recently found this blog and learn that back issues of MS are online. An original reader of MS Magazine, I had to stop when I became print disabled (by allergic asthma from print) many years ago.
Just “made”/reached my 7 0th – 17 1/2 leap year birthday, still learning computer skills in my 2 years plus online. An artist since in my mid-20s, after having just survived “stranger” rape, I decided to go after my dream of being an artist because I realized that one could die at any time. It was the right decision.
I added writing as part of networking when I became disabled in my 40s. I began the Disabled Artists’ Network in April, 1985: a pen-network of professional artists who are disabled. I have just hit number 283, the 25th “birthday” edition, of the “Report to Artists”, my monthly short, small circulation piece of writing to artists, that is on paper, includes art and feedback from artists. There are two points that I have learned as an artist and continuing as disabled: art is an itch that must be scratched, as can and that art is problem solving, as is disability.
As a member of a large women’s art group in the 1970s, we fought for inclusion of women in the art world. Some of the nonsense I heard as a woman artist then, I am still hearing said about disabled artists now: “quality” is a major one – the condescending word implying that professional artists who are disabled are not at the level of nondisabled artists. I also retain the women artists’ movement concept of open shows, by artists of artists, limited only by space. I dislike jurying. Juried shows say more about the jurors than the artists and art work. (To be able to make my point, I entered many juried shows in the 1980s and won several awards. General art world shows and shows of women artists:shows open to all professional artists:local, national and international. I then only entered one,two or three shows of segregated, disabled artist shows- I convinced one of the shows to convert to an open show and pay for round trip postage for the art, including insurance, in 1986. I think “mainstreaming” is preferred in showing.)
Networking has made my career “live”, as well as giving me a way to advocate: for awareness of women (and men; few men were interested in joining a pen-network run by a woman and our two men members have died in the last few years)with disabilities, such in re segregation by lack of wheelchair access, lack of opportunity for homebound artists… Artists writing about their art and lives has been wonderful for all of us, as in showing the art. (Am “out of steam” – CFS/ME)
Thank you so much for your thoughts Sanda. It’s so wonderful to hear about the work you’re doing and the way you’ve translated your experiences into art-making. I think it’s so important that we diversify our ends in terms of Art, and I love what you say about juried shows being more about jurors than artists and art-making. In general, I think what we view as “taste” is arbitrarily constructed so shows like those you put on are crucial to a broader understanding of the purpose of Art and advocating awareness for those traditionally (also arbitrarily) marginalized. So again, thank you so much for sharing your journey!
Thank you for your kind words, Amanda. And for spelling my name right. I need to correct a misimpression: I don’t put on any art shows.