by Jill Dawson
First published 1992
This anthology collects centuries of rebellious poetry by women who refused to play nice. Editor Jill Dawson gathers voices that span continents and eras, from medieval Japanese poet Izumi Shikibu to contemporary writers like Carol Ann Duffy and Margaret Atwood. The collection showcases poetry as a weapon against hypocrisy and prejudice, wielding sexuality and irreverence to shatter expectations of feminine propriety. These poets attack social conventions with wit and boldness, proving that women have always found ways to be deliberately wicked in verse. Contributors include Maya Angelou, Emily Dickinson, Grace Nichols, Dorothy Parker, Suniti Namjoshi, and Stevie Smith. The anthology reveals how female poets transformed their medium into an instrument of rebellion, using bawdy humor and erotic frankness to overturn the sanitized image of the "Lady Poet." Each poem demonstrates a different form of literary misbehavior, creating a chorus of defiant voices across time.
Genres: anthologies, 20th-century, feminism, poetry, 21st-century, womens-fiction
Vibes: defiant, emotional, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: defiant-voices, literary-misbehavior
Period: Medieval, Contemporary
194 pages · Paperback · Virago