In an interview, Hilary Mantel once said, "I like putting my hand out to the dead and seeing who will take it." I have much the same feeling about, Chosen Sisters, my current poetry project, which focuses on the lives of women from the past who lived in intimate relationship with other women, or wanted … Continue reading Putting a hand out to the dead
While I'm in Wales, working on my 'dead lesbians project' at Gladstone's Library, top of my list for a day trip was Plas Newydd, home to the Ladies of Llangollen. I'd already read Elizabeth Mavor's excellent account of their lives, 'The Ladies of Llangollen: A Study in Romantic Friendship', and the snippets from Eleanor Butler … Continue reading Plas Newydd, the Ladies of Llangollen, and a treasure from the archive
One of the women I've been researching for my new poetry collection, Chosen Sisters, is Mary Benson (1841-1918), also known as ‘Minnie’ or ‘Ben'. She was the wife of Edward White Benson, who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1883 until his death in 1896. Throughout her life Mary experienced a series of ‘schwärmerein’, or ‘enthusiasms’ for … Continue reading Mary Benson: ‘My God, what a woman’