I answered a call out last year by Arachne Press to submit a piece of writing about the menopause, and to my wonderment and delight my piece was chosen to sit alongside others in this amazing collection.
Like many before me I have shrunk from embracing this natural cycle within my life. Kept my mouth shut in public, perhaps even shuffled uneasily on the spot when it has come up in conversation. Although, from a position on the side lines I have supported efforts to make this topic less taboo, have attended workshops about menopause awareness, cheered on work place attempts to bring this subject out of the shadows, but when it came to myself I would slip back into those shadows, at least amongst colleagues.
Gradually an increasing amount of friends have owned up to problematic symptoms and privately I too have begun to acknowledge those ‘personal summers’ if nothing else. So what made me write a poem that is being published, my words in print for all the world to see? Because I am so much more comfortable with the written word, because my pen or my keyboard don’t mind if I stutter or blush, or ramble incoherently, and they positively welcome the silences, for it is within those periods of quiet and stillness that the muse comes forward.
I write what I know, and from the heart, and there is so much I cannot explain to your face, but if you are lucky I’ll share that story or poem I’ve typed.
Menopause – its something we share, but experience differently. It may glance off your shoulders with barely a whisper, or bring you to your knees for long excruciating years. The more it is talked about in public, the easier it will become for those who suffer to speak up, and gain the help and the space they need. If I stumble over shouting about it with my spoken voice then let my writing voice take its place.
This collection aims to break away from serious medical discussions and mainstream viewpoints and instead acts as a comet of the arts, blazing a trail of tales featuring a gamut of emotions from anger to humour. Perhaps you’ll see yourself here, perhaps you’ll write your own experience down, and perhaps you’ll share it, because people are now listening.
Menopause: The Anthology (2023) edited by Cherry Potts and Catherine Pestano will be officially launched on Wednesday 18th October, 7pm at a free online event.
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