The Midnight Heart

Fool Me Twice

July 30, 2017 by zbthompson

I just had an article out in The Manifest Station, which is about the idea of repeat victimisation. Domestic violence is still so badly understood, and unless you have studied the subject, it can be difficult to understand why abusive relationships unfold the way they do. It was important to me to get these thoughts down, because the only way to help the general public understand is by creating empathy, by offering a glimpse of how it feels, of what […]

Categories: Uncategorized

Speech for the reception of The Little Cage of Ellis Bell

June 16, 2017 by zbthompson

This is a transcription of the speech given at the reception of The Little Cage of Ellis Bell. The past is another country. They do things differently there. These words from L. P. Hartley’ The Gobetween are probably a cliché now, and the idea that the past is a faraway country is certainly challenged by Victoria Brookland’s art. No! In Brookland’s images the world of nineteenth century women writers seems very close indeed. Brookland’s pictures hit you in the gut. […]

Categories: Art and Photography, Britain, Colonialism and Postcolonialism, Feminism, Uncategorized

The Little Cage of Ellis Bell

June 4, 2017 by zbthompson

The Little Cage of Ellis Bell A Week-long Exhibit in the Hopkins Hall Gallery Summer Series 12th – 16th June This project presents the work of British artists Victoria Brookland (art) and Zoë Brigley Thompson (poetry), alongside historic garments from the Ohio State Historic Costumes and Textiles Collection. In juxtaposition, the paintings, poems, and objects explore how women’s sexuality has been expressed and repressed in past eras. Zoë and Victoria met when they were both artists in residence at […]

Categories: Art and Photography, Poetry

Poetry: why experiment?

April 4, 2017 by zbthompson

I heard today that some of my poems are going to be included in the anthology The Edge of Necessary: Welsh innovative poetry 1966-2016. I started thinking about the particular kind of experimentation that I enjoy, and where that urge comes from. It put in my mind a particular moment. In 1985, when I was 4 years old, my mother and I came back to Wales. My mother had been teaching in the Midlands, but now we were living a house […]

Categories: Creativity, Family, Poetry

6 Affirmative Statements to Combat Trans-exclusionary Feminism

March 23, 2017 by zbthompson

Yes, we all saw the news about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s unfortunate remarks about trans- people. To combat such myths, here are 6 affirmative statements about trans people to challenge transphobic prejudice within feminism and beyond. Trans People are Not Faking It Trans-exclusionary feminists often harbor a deep doubt and suspicion about the “truth” of trans identity, a perspective that leads them to make extremely offensive and insensitive comments. Julie Burchell described trans women as “bedwetters in bad wigs,” an outrageous […]

Categories: Uncategorized

Stanford, California

December 10, 2016 by zbthompson

I am much indebted to the incredibly talented Claire Trevien who has just posted today a videopoem based on my poem ‘Stanford, California.’ The poem is part of a sequence ‘Beatitudes for the Women’ on the subject of violence against women. This one is a found poem that recycles real testimony from the Stanford letter, a very moving text in itself that I would encourage everyone to read: https://www.buzzfeed.com/katiejmbaker/heres-the-powerful-letter-the-stanford-victim-read-to-her-ra?utm_term=.ciYORv3on#.tnglXzDx7

Categories: Uncategorized

New Poems in Planet

December 9, 2016 by zbthompson

As as writing for their website, I have had two poems recently in Planet: The Welsh Internationalist: The Promise of Happiness, and Post Colonial. I really admire what Emily Trahair is doing with the magazine, and I recommend checking out the website. http://www.planetmagazine.org.uk

Categories: Uncategorized

Notes from a Swing State

December 9, 2016 by zbthompson

Planet, the Welsh Internationalist just published this article on life in Ohio after the US election and the recent attack at the Ohio State University: http://www.planetmagazine.org.uk/planet_extra/notes-swing-state

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Voting and the Unexpected: Why did the Welsh Valleys vote Brexit?

December 5, 2016 by zbthompson

2016 has been a year of the unexpected. Brexit is underway. Trump is the new president. Many of us, me included, have been left reeling at the huge upheavals that have taken place, often instigated by people seeming to vote against their own interests – like (white) women voting for Trump, in spite of the very serious allegations of sexual harassment against him. In much of the coverage on Wales and Brexit, Welsh people have been portrayed as […]

Categories: Uncategorized

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