A safe space where women feel heard, appreciated and loved. The roles laid on a woman’s existence as a daughter, mother, wife or even a girlfriend is a cathartic journey.
Holly McComish, author of the book If Tits Could Talk and the performers of the night spoke their truth. They gave the audience the gift of identifying the innate powers of being a woman.
Lisa Allen, the organiser of the event, isn’t just a quintessential host. Her humour and warmth filled the room with positivity and helped us cosy into our plush sofas for an incredible night.
The entire event is an ode to Breast Cancer Awareness month. Lisa and Holly came together with the support of Pink Ribbon Foundation to set up an evening to celebrate women, and women in poetry.
It was an intimate gathering with over forty women at Karma Sanctum in Soho, London. We were welcomed with a complimentary rum punch made by a friendly bartender, and a groovy DJ Sarah Giggle to up the tempo of the room.
I believe the bartender’s words were, “I’ve never seen this many women in one room. I will try not to cry tonight, it seems special”.
The word special doesn’t begin to cover the extraordinary talent of the night.
To start the night, Lisa read out the poem “If Tits Could Talk” from Holly’s book since she couldn’t make it to the event. A poem that made us snort and hum in agreement, her talent filled us with anticipation for a life-changing night.
Lisa’s mum is that one person in every room whose laugh is the loudest but funniest in the room. She is the perfect cheerleader with an aura that made all of the performers love their own artistry.
Molly Barton, the first performer, is a star in the making. Her poem about a dating experience gone wrong as a woman left high and dry with a gonorrhoea scare at the end, thrilled us to the core. Her theatrics and comic timing was impeccable, she is sure to see many spotlights in her career.
Sinead Brady was a sweet presence on stage. She highlighted the importance of men who don’t know the anatomy of a woman’s body. With a tinge of humour in her vain, asking for the bare minimum off a man, we all got on board with her epiphanies.
Louise Hale, AKA Curly Wordy, is a woman’s body whisperer. More spoken word than poetry but with her nuances of storytelling, she was a treat to the ears and an effortless healer of a woman’s heart. In a chat with her off stage, she and I had a reflective conversation about our spiritual journey as a woman.
She said, “It takes a lot of inner work to know and stand for what womanhood means to you. The little girl inside needs to be heard, and once she’s heard, the woman awakens.”
Ayah Musaad came as a reminder that we are but the women of the earth. She reconnected us to the roots of mother nature with her angelic voice, her poetry made us feel safe in our womanhood.
Yasmin Dankwah’s poetry is every little girl’s wish. With her poem ‘Daughter, Daughter’, our hearts were softened for all of the time we wished our mothers could teach us how to be a woman.
She surprised us by singing some of her lines, the perfect melody to help us to find compassion for our mothers for trying their best. Whilst acknowledging our wishes and desires as a young girl.
Antoinette Jackman hit us with the facts with her poem ‘The Terms and Conditions of Being a Mama’. She touches upon the several bruises a mother has to bear with playful, excited children.
But also reflects on how they brighten her life with their silly jokes and speaks of gratitude towards them, conveying that they are gifts from god after all.
Sian Rowland’s ‘That’s Not My Name’ is a statement poem that everyone must listen to at least once in their lives. Her journey of being an “older” woman and being invisible to the world, helped her turn her fury into a masterpiece of a poem.
In a conversation with off stage she humourously said, “It’s ridiculous how I’m made to feel like I don’t exist in this world after a certain age. I’m not even that old.
All I can say to those who discriminate age is that one day they will be there too and they’ll know. Little do they know that I’ve been there, done all of that already so jokes on them.”
Anna Margarita’s ‘A Love Letter To Her Mental’ was a round up of how she feels in a young woman’s body, mind, heart and soul. With a rap like cadence to her performance and a sassy undertone, she spoke with words of wisdom beyond her age.
Klara Kaliger had an ethereal aura about her that made us feel connected to her story. She spoke about being watched and the terrors laid on women’s bodies, like we’re covered in post its. She ended with a powerful note to remind us that the only one who can see those post its, is us and left us with a sweet after taste of self-love.
Lizzie Adejimi was a breath of fresh air, who ended the show making us all feel surpremely liberated. A breast cancer survivor who blessed us with two of her favourite pieces. A meditative piece at first with her heavenly voice and a musical poem about the ABCs of being a woman to rediscover ourselves.
A line from her poem really resonated with me at the end of the night, she said, “Don’t lose the moon, counting the stars.” It felt like the perfect closing line to a fantastic event.
If you could see the air in the room at the end of the night, it was love all around. Glorious smiles and chats to unify all of us as strong allies in a world that continues to build empathy through kindness.
It’s events like this that remind us that safe spaces can be created, and that we all belong somewhere.
And as I was leaving, I sensed my womanhood re-emerging and ready to be reclaimed through my own strength.
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