The Woman in this Poem: Women's Voices in Poetry

by Georgia Heard

Passion. Laughter. Divorce. Mom bodies. Beauty. Truth. Ferocity. Forgiveness. Love. Laundry. From the outstanding to the unexpected, this life-changing collection of poetry features a wide range of work from both renowned and lesser-known female poets from the past 150 years. Edited by acclaimed poet and author Georgia Heard, this anthology features poetry from Elizabeth Alexander, Maya Angelou, Margaret Atwood, Julianna Baggott, Marilyn Chin, Emily Dickinson, Marie Howe, Naomi Shihab Nye, Sylvia Plath, and many others. Organized into five thematic sections centered on the topics of Love, Motherhood, Work, Family and Friends, and Balance, this book not only offers wisdom, comfort, reckoning, and redemption to readers of any age or gender, but also reminds us of how pleasurable and enriching it can be to lose ourselves in the power of well-crafted words. “This is the collection of poetry we have all been waiting for — honestly, favorite sister poets in one place, singing out and to each other, astonishing, evocative, domestic, divine, gathered and arranged with breathless precision.” — Eve Ensler, Tony Award-winning playwright and author of The Vagina Monologues

144 pages, Flexibound

Published January 1, 2015

About the author

Georgia Heard is the NCTE 2023 Excellence in Poetry for Children Award Winner which honors an American poet for their aggregate work for children. She is the author of many children’s books including her most recent Welcome to the Wonder House, (co-authored with Rebecca Kai Dotlich), My Thoughts Are Clouds: Poems for Mindfulness, and Boom! Bellow! Bleat!: Animal Poems for Two Or More Voices.
She received her M.F.A. in poetry writing from Columbia University. She is a founding member of the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project in New York City. Currently, she visits schools in the United States and around the world teaching writing and poetry. She is the author of Heart Maps: Helping Students Create and Craft Authentic Writing and a new edition of Awakening the Heart.
-from georgiaheard.com

Reviews

[Sylvia Valevicius]

Notwithstanding our digital world, how I love the physical feel of this poetry book! 'The Woman in this Poem': Women's Voices in Poetry - an anthology published by Plumleaf Press and edited by Georgia Heard.

The cover is gorgeous - a woman's profile of head and bare shoulders - chin raised, mouth open emitting a stream of life's emotional experience, raw and beautiful. The artwork in this anthology is stunning in its bold colours, tranquil patterns, and pages of splendid simplicity. The volume is worthy of elegant coffee-table display, but even more so, it beckons to be picked up and cherished for the verses inside.

In her Introduction, Heard states that she chose poems "that might affirm our experiences and feelings and make us feel less alone." This book is structured by themes, and as Heard intends, there are remarkable pieces of emotion therein which remind us of our shared humanity. I also loved the diversity of talent and reading the biographies of the authors, several whose works are familiar to me, but greatly enjoyed being introduced to poets new to me, as well. Some in translation. Simply lovely.

Samples:

'Possibilities' by Wislawa Szymborska: "I prefer not to ask how much longer and when."

'Laundry' by Ruth Moose: "There is joy in clean laundry
All is forgiven
in water, sun, and air."

'You Can't Have It All' by Barbara Ras: "You can't bring back the dead,
but you can have the words forgive and forget
hold hands as if they meant to spend a lifetime together."

So many poems have become my new 'favourites'. Rachel Hadas in 'The Red Hat', about watching your child begin independence will put a lump in your throat, whether you are a parent or grandparent of either gender, reading this verse. Or 'Bedecked' by Victoria Redel. Pierces the heart.

A stanza on 'Happiness' by Jane Kenyon offers such hope:

"It even comes to the boulder
in the perpetual shade of pine barrens,
to rain falling on the open sea,
to the wineglass, weary of holding wine."

Be prepared to laugh, or weep, unashamedly, at some of the images in this volume that sear into your heart. What a smorgasbord of delight, elegance, and truth.

And as a surprise, check out the haunting refrain in Georgia Heard's own poem:
'Can Women Have It All?' (p. 72)

This anthology is such a treat! THE WOMAN IN THIS POEM. Resonates. I am she. So are you.

[Kaleigh]

3.5/3.75 ⭐️ — I’m stuck between two ratings because it’s so hard to rate an entire collection of poems. I normally end up tabbing my favorites to return to later. I really do feel like this book encompasses so much of the span of life, experiences and responsibilities of being a woman. The aesthetic way this collection was put together was a really nice touch on the reading experience as well! The colors and added graphics to each shift in topic was a nice touch!
I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested.

[Linda]

I've had this anthology a long time, a marvelous gift from a friend in a poem swap. Nearly every day I read a poem or two from it, and it buoys me for the day, or rests me at the end of the day. I imagine that every woman of any age will love it, and that every man should read it if he wants to understand a bit more about women. Georgia Heard has entered one small quote at the beginning, something I think you'll all enjoy: "Words linked us in a ring of stars . . ." by Dorothy Livery's poem "Epiphany", also included in the book. Georgia has divided the book's poems into sections, Love, Motherhood, Work, Family & Friends, and Balance. Within those sections are sometimes sub-sections. You can take a section a a time, open the book at will, browse and savor.