As we near the end of National Novel Writing Month, there seems to be an increased amount of anxiety about completing before the deadline. Regardless of whether you’re participating in NaNoWriMo or not, getting deadlines finished before the year end has never felt more frantic as we approach Christmas and what’s supposed to be relaxing time off! Whether you’re creative …
“A particular Declaration of the most barberous and damnable Practises, Murthers, wicked and diuelish Conspiracies, practized and executed by the most dangerous and malitious Witch Elizabeth Sowthernes alias Demdike, of the Forrest of Pendle in the Countie of Lancaster” – Thomas Potts, The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster. The witch hunts of the 16th and 17th …
The witch lives between dark and daylight, the safely settled village and the wil writes: “It’s no coincidence that the reclamation of the witch as a symbol of female power and persecution started with the suffragettes, and later saw a renaissance in the women’s liberation movement of the 1960s. (…) In this new age of sexist turmoil, it’s fitting she …
There’s something to be said for the allure of the classics, stories that never get old. Time and time again we go back to Shakespeare, Shelley, Dickens, the Brontes, and of course, Ancient Myth. However, even the very best of Greek Mythology has excluded or shadowed it’s female characters to the point where their narratives are that of plot devices …
Picture this, a boat washes ashore on the beautiful island of Aiaia, carrying Odysseus after his long quest fighting in Troy. Silver wolves and golden lions drape themselves over the threshold, and striking witch-sorceress Circe emerges over the rocks. The story of the Odyssey begins with depicting Circe as vivid, powerful and unique, a cunning witch who transforms Odysseus’s men …
It’s no secret that large corporations across the globe profit from human insecurity. Everywhere you go, you’ll encounter anti ageing creams, detox teas, Photoshop, face tuning technology, and worse. We are living in an economy that provides us with constant problems to solve, rather than opportunities to celebrate, embrace and accept our bodies the way they are. As our focus …
Our July theme of ecofeminsim has already started a lot of meaningful conversations on consumerism, fast fashion, and how feminism intersects with climate change. We turned to Brighton-based sustainability brand, Revival Collective, to include their beautiful zine inside our Wild Women box for July. We thought it would also be a great insight for you, our lovely subscribers and followers, …
By Becca Bashford This month at Books That Matter, we created a box which sought to encapsulate the beauty, the talent, and the importance of amplifying LGBT+ voices. It’s June, which means Pride season is upon us. Pride is about bringing the experiences of the LGBT+ community to the forefront of our minds and hearts; it’s a time to celebrate …
By Becca Bashford Here at Books That Matter, we passionately believe that literature has the ability to empower and inspire women. This month’s theme, Feminist Dystopia, explores a unique literary genre which goes a step further in its efforts to empower and inspire – in fact, it leaps into the world of politics and activism. The startling rise in the …
This is a blog post we didn’t expect to be writing in Feminist Dystopia month. As you’re probably aware, anti-abortion laws have recently been passed in Alabama and Georgia in the US, with Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Ohio now following suit. We are, of course, already aware of the same conditions in place for people in Northern Ireland, and this …
