A few people have asked me for poetry and feminism reading recommendations. Here’s some ideas.

Feminism as a topic/feminist works

‘Things I don’t want to know.’ Deborah Levy. I adore this book. One of the best things about being a woman, and being a woman writer, I’ve ever read. I wrote about it a while ago.

‘A Room of One’s Own.’ Virginia Woolf. I just finished this and am working on a post about it. I was utterly blown away by the lack of progress we’ve had as women since 1928.

‘The Bell Jar.’ Sylvia Plath. Her semiautobiography, don’t read unless you are mentally robust.

‘Living Dolls.’ Natasha Walter. In the middle of this at the moment and it’s fascinating nonfiction about contemporary feminism.

‘When it happens to you.’ Molly Ringwald. A collection of short stories that cover the many difficulties and joys in the feminine experience.

Anything by Katherine Mansfield.

Poetry

Clementine Von Radics. She’s 22, she lives in Oregon, and she’s incredible. I’ve bought both her books even though the postage cost more than the books themselves, which is a critique of both postage, and how artists undervalue themselves.

Stefanie Lash. My good friend Stef published a murder-mystery-in-poems, Bird Murder. You should read it because it’s shockingly unique and wonderful.

Hinemoana Baker. Current Writer in Residence at Victoria University. Also another amazing woman I get to call a friend.

Ashleigh Young. Her blog is almost as great as her poems.

Anne Kennedy. One of my favourite poems is Anne’s ‘I was a feminist in the eighties.’

Sport. If you want to read a good variety of New Zealand poetry, buy a copy of Sport. It’s packed and delicious.