I must hitch up my girl knickers before it’s too late!
Each of us must draw strength from our rage.
I permit myself to speak, and I listen. I regret my years of silence. Approaching sixty, I walk with newfound strength and conviction towards my future. I speak now as a woman, sister, mother, and grandmother who has many lived experiences, both rewarding and painful. I look with pride upon myself, recognising my ability to survive and prosper.
Every woman has a story, and not all stories get told. I write my truths today for visibility and reparation, and I, as Audre Lorde describes, “transfer silence into language and action.”[1]
Writing is now essential to my art practice, linking reflection and making. I look inward to make sense of my life and better understand myself, my place within society and my circumstances. I use my weighty past as the vital ingredient for creative power. In my work I face my vulnerabilities head-on, knowing they will empower and not destroy me. The work I create is a direct response to my autobiographical reality.
[1] Audre Lorde, When I Dare to Be Powerful, 003 edn (Great Britain: Penguin Random House, 2007), p 2.
