LitfestThere was an interesting letter to the editor in the latest Poetry Review. A collective of 15 women poets, including Kate Clanchy, Patience Agbabi, Katrina Porteous and Eva Salzman to pick some from the high profile signatories, were questioning the ‘gender divide’ of the review section of the previous Poetry Review, they also claim that less space is given to women essayists and poets.
The editor, Fiona Sampson, while correcting the stats they present, argues that PR cannot publish work on a quota basis, the poetry world is unbalanced and suggests women are ‘disproportionately reluctant to assume literary authority through regular reviewing’. She talks about responsibility. And heralds the news (at least to me) that Poetry Wales and Poetry London both have new women poetry editors – Zoe Skoulding and Colette Bryce, respectively.
Certainly in regard to the submissions we receive at Flax I agree with Fiona’s conclusion. And, like her, we do not select on a quota basis or with an eye to gender representation. Our criteria is quality and diversity. As I have said at most of our launches, what excites me is the tensions that arise from disparity, the electic nature of the collective voice and laying open of different interpretations and experiences. This comes from gender and age.
Perhaps we are lucky here in the North West of England that there are so many fine women poets, because our poetry anthologies and collections have published 18 women poets and 9 men. Not that it is a competition. In fact I hadn’t even considered counting the contributors until reading the letter and its response.
And so perhaps I should consider that other experience: age. We have published 7 poets under the age of 4o; 20 over the age of 40.
Is there a correlation to these stats? There is the classic cliche of the woman snatching time to write at the kitchen table (Fay Godwin memorialised this in her photos of Fay Weldon), but is the reality that simple? The TS Eliot prize was won this year by a women poet who has only just turned thirty.
Maybe there is no clear-cut answer or interpretation. Except to keep writing, to add voice to the debate, to think deeply and share ideas and arguments. Therer is only one certainty: everything changes.
Interesting also, looking at the Flax output, that two of the most recent women Flax has published are quite young, so the talented women of the North West have new blood to keep them ticking on. But one of the other observations around the office has been the relative reluctance of some of the men to take on the professional development end of the Flax bargain. To over simplify the situation (and with due regard to the men who do take up this service) perhaps some of the men already believe they are authorities, while the women still believe they have things to learn and new voices to find. I put more hope in the latter to produce the good work down the line, regardless of their age.
Martin
(former) designer
Comment by Martin — July 7, 2009 @ 11:08 am
Colette Bryce will be coming to Lancaster next year in the Spring, so we should be able to pick her brains on the matter.
Comment by Andy Darby — July 7, 2009 @ 11:52 am
“The editor, Fiona Sampson[...]suggests women are ‘disproportionately reluctant to assume literary authority through regular reviewing’.”
Has she asked them? I used to review quite often for Peter Forbes when he edited PR; in fact I once asked him why he sent me so many books by women to review, and he told me he had to get women reviewed by women because some of of his male reviewers refused to review books by women – interesting, or what?
I haven’t reviewed for PR since Peter left, and the reason for that is not that I have any reluctance to assume literary authority but that no one since has ever asked me to. True, by now I feel I don’t really want to (paid dues, want to concentrate on own work) but there may be others who would if anyone asked them.
Comment by Sheenagh Pugh — July 13, 2009 @ 2:40 pm
We all need to be permissioned to act through invitation, whether that is by having the confidence, opportunity and wherewithall to be able to invite oneself to act on the literary stage or by being invited to act by another, an established literary gatekeeper.
Sampson’s suggestion regarding women’s reluctance to ‘assume literary authority’ picks up only half the point as literary authority is a baton that is passed on. The very act of handing the baton to someone imbues that person with the confidence to act in the role. Sheenagh Pugh’s experience suggests that sometimes that baton is not passed on or is simply dropped even when it has been previously proffered.
Her comment regarding male reviewers also shows that it is at times purposely withheld. A sense of oneself as commanding any literary authority grows through serious consideration by your peers, other writers and reviewers, and by others championing your work.
For me, anyone involved in literature has the responsibility to champion the breadth of possibilities that literature offers and to ensure writers of all kinds are offered the baton.
Comment by Andy Darby — July 15, 2009 @ 4:24 pm