A Commemoration of Women Through Literature

Literature lovers won’t want to miss the Reading and Writing Women event on Monday, March 28 at .  Now in its 10th year, the event is hosted by the Language and Literature Department and commemorates Women’s History Month.

“Given the fact that the work of women writers was largely ignored or overlooked for centuries, Women's History Month gives us a chance to celebrate the recent recovery of women's voices,” said Dr. Ethel Rackin, an assistant professor at BCCC and one of the event organizers.

Reading and Writing Women takes place in the Gateway Center Atrium of the Newtown campus from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with the Upper and Lower Bucks campuses joining the celebration via Skype from 11 a.m. until noon. The event is free and open to the public.

“This event offers an exciting opportunity for the Bucks community to come together to celebrate Women's History Month,” said Rackin, who plans to read Emily Dickinson poems at the event.

At the top of each hour, guest speakers will read a selection from their original work: Bucks County Poet Laureate Lorraine Henrie Lins at noon, past Poet Laureate Paula Raimondo at 11 a.m. and past Poet Laureate Bernadette McBride at 1 p.m.

“I'm planning to read a little bit of my own work, which is certainly informed by my roles as wife and mother, and also some poems by Anne Carson, Louise Gluck and some other real live women writers,” said Raimondo, also an instructor at BCCC.

During the one o’clock hour, there will be a tribute to Dr. Allen Hoey, a BCCC professor and poet who recently passed away. Remaining air time is devoted to anyone who wishes to read an excerpt from their favorite female authors or from their own relevant work.

“We’ll have an open microphone, so people can spontaneously come up and read a passage,” said Dr. Keri Barber, co-organizer and an instructor at BCCC. “It's a good chance for people to share their own original work, and it's exciting to have students celebrate women writers and present their own writing in fun informal way instead of presenting research.”

The event is sure to be a unique learning experience for all, Barber said.

“I hope my students take away an appreciation of women and how they contribute to any field,” said Barber. “I also hope that they recognize the contribution women make to the field of writing.”

Raimondo said the event makes an important contribution to the recognition of Women's History Month.  “Events like this one expose students and also the general public to writers and ideas that are not the specialized domain of some bra-burning feminist discussion group, but critical and current to our everyday understanding of who we, women and men, are.”