Do you already know that your existence–who and how you are–is in and of itself a contribution to the people and place around you? Not after or because you do some particular thing, but simply the miracle of your life. And that the people around you, and the place(s), have contributions as well? Do you understand that your quality of life and your survival are tied to how authentic and generous the connections are between you and the people and place you live with and in?
-Adrienne Maree Brown
Dear Community,
“How do you practice democracy?” Adrienne Maree Brown asks in an interview. She asks this question often, and people stumble to answer. We practice it when we vote, but how do we practice it in our daily lives? How do we practice believing every voice has value, and making decisions together? In our homes? With our neighbors? How do we speak and listen in communities with level playing fields?
I immediately knew my answer to this question. Here, at Women Writing for (a) Change. Our circles are a beautiful practice of democracy. Without this practice, we end up in spaces where the loudest voice prevails or where hierarchical systems say someone’s voice matters more. On election day, your vote/voice and a CEO’s are valued the same. At WWfaC this happens every day.
I value the freedom to vote. As a woman in the United States, it was only a little over a hundred years ago that we won this right, thanks to the First Wave Feminists, the Suffragettes. I also value practicing democracy and equality daily as every writing circle, meeting, and conversation at WWfaC is held with the circle practices. I value voting a couple times a year, and I value, with equal vigor, practicing equality– by giving every voice time and respect in the circle.
At our Roots to Sky Readaround earlier this year, there were two wonderful writings shared by women about their fathers. Both made me tear up. One was written by a woman who is Jewish. One by a woman who is Palestinian-American. Where else in the world could this happen with love, listening, connection, and joy but Women Writing for (a) Change? Creating spaces of equality is where peace begins, and we’re sowing seeds everyday. Come, come practice democracy with us.
With Gratitude,
Christine Wilson
WANT TO KNOW WHAT’S INSPIRING ME LATELY?
How Can You Get More On This Topic?
For more of this thinking, read Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown. The podcast I reference is an interview on On Being. Listen here.
Or sign up for a fall class at WomenWriting.org
Other Books I’m About:
I just finished “The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store” by James McBride. I highly recommend it! You know who else recommends it? The Ohioana 2024 Book Awards! Guess who won for Poetry? Taylor Byas! For “I Done Clicked My Heels Three Times.” You can meet her here at WWfaC on October 11 & 12!
A Song Stuck In My Head:
Have you heard “I Felt a Funeral In My Brain?” Yes, the poem by Emily Dickinson, but also Andrew Bird and Phoebe Bridgers turned it into a song. I have had some weather change headaches this month, and this song is on repeat in my brain. Also, I just stinking love that Emily Dickinson’s words feel so right in a contemporary context. Poets are ahead of their time!
A Poem I Keep Returning To:
Summer by Robin Coste Lewis
Read it here. Then, I have some sweet prompts for you, next.
How are you practicing democracy?
What event or location is happening in your brain or heart or gut, like the Funeral in Emily Dickinson’s Brain.
What do you know to be circling inside you? *from the poem
Are there any signs in your life pointing you to what you already know? *from the poem.