On Women (Saying) Stuff

I’m part of a group of called DIY Poets, and since 2016, the women of DIY have been hosting an annual event celebrating International Women’s Day. 

This year Women Say Stuff hosted its tenth open mic, and it was a really gorgeous evening, where we had the pleasure of uplifting the voices of local women and raising money for Nottingham-based domestic abuse charity JUNO Women’s Aid. 

We sold over 100 tickets to the event, secured local sponsorship to pay our staff and performers, and raised over £600 for our chosen charity! Plus, our lovely audience also donated three bags of period products for women in need, which we donated to Nottingham Women’s Centre. 

On the night we had twenty-three women on the open mic, plus two fantastic headline sets from Derby-based poet Aoife O’Connor, and WSS co-founder Clare Stewart! (I especially loved Aoife’s award-winning poem “A Series of Unrelated Small Things.”)

On the open mic, we had a real range of topics from maths and to medusa, solidarity to revolution, the impact of sexual violence to how women are written from history. It was a wonderful, evocative, empowering and thought-provoking set of poems, and we loved every minute of it. 

A big thank you to our supporters: Nottingham City of Literature, Writing East Midlands, Tenders UK, Nottingham Central Library, and UNISON, and to our volunteers and support staff Clare, Lytisha, Rose, Leanne, Hazel, Joy, Gail, Claire, Jazz and Davina. 

A spotty wifi connection did hamper proceedings slightly - especially for those joining us online - but other than that, the event was a lovely one. And we’ve had lots of really helpful feedback to help us make next year’s event EVEN BETTER!

So, watch this space for more news, including the final tally for donations, and news about a poetry anthology coming up in the next twelve months! 

Lytisha, Priya, Aoife, Cathy, Sonja & Northern Annie


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