Burning House Press are excited to welcome SHE SPEAKS UK as our October guest editors!!! As of today She Speaks will take over editorship of Burning House Press online for the full month of October.

Submissions for She Speaks are open from today – 1st October and will remain open until 24th.

She Speaks Theme/s for the month are as follows

GENDER & REVOLUTION

She Speaks have introduced their theme/s for your guidance:

Gender & Revolution

“If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive.”

• Audre Lorde

“No real social change has ever been brought about without a revolution… Revolution is but thought carried into action.”

• Emma Goldman (Writer and Anarchist)

What does gender look like to you? If gender is a construct, how would you deconstruct it? If you could re-write or reframe gender norms, would you? What would your world look like? What changes, if any, would you like to see?

What does revolution look like? Why is it important and what changes are needed?

We want you to use words or images to investigate gender, revolution, or both. You could draw on personal experiences, historical / her-storical narratives, imagined environments or cultural commentary. We welcome voices that represent different worldviews, beliefs and geographical locations.

We want art that breaks rules; that challenges patriarchy; that expresses personal struggle; that exposes the impact of cultural norms. Don’t be afraid to break out of your comfort zone and push the boundaries.

We can’t wait to see your submissions.

Love,

She Speaks

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She Speaks UK is a monthly performance space in the East Midlands hosted by Aoife O’Connor, Emericana Desouza and Jo Lewis. It is an inclusive and supportive safe space promoting and platforming female, trans, non-binary & femme identifying artists. Events are female-led but not female exclusive with an open mic for all genders and an open audience. The co-founders are proud to hold a space where first-time performers are warmly encouraged, yet perform alongside well-established headliners.

She Speaks was founded in 2017 with the tagline “Art Is Our Liberation” and has since collaborated with organisations including International Women’s Day Festival Derby, LGB-QWERTY, Artcore, Furthest From The Sea, and Derby Women’s Centre. In November 2017, She Speaks hosted the closing night of Derby Poetry Festival, featuring the Trinidadian poet Shivanee Ramlochan.

In 2018 the collective began reaching out to more groups in their community through facilitating workshops including creative writing & performance skills for young people as well as craftivism for women & girls.

She Speaks will host their next performance night on 21st October 2018 featuring Hannah Fay Sharples, followed by an extra-special Derby Poetry Festival event on 22nd November 2018 featuring Vanessa Kisuule.

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All submissions should be sent as attachments to guesteditorbhp@gmail.com

Please state the theme and form of your submission in the subject of the email. For example: GENDER/POETRY

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Aoife O’Connor is the co-founder of She Speaks UK – Aoife is an inter-sectional feminist, poet, a slam poet & has competed & performed all over the world. Aoife is currently studying Creative & Professional Writing at the University of Derby. She works to share stories & write poems about the struggles of underrepresented & minority groups to help work towards change.

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Emerciana Desouza is a queer artist, performance poet & co-founder of ‘She Speaks’. Her work explores class, gender, sexuality & race in order to share typically unheard & underrepresented narratives. Her work has been included in publications such as Desert Rose Literary Magazine & International Womens Day Derby Festival Magazine. She is invested in calling out hatred & oppression, whilst calling for compassion & unity.

Em is also an expressive arts facilitator & energy worker specialising in gender & sexuality. She runs feminine empowerment workshops which promote natural cycles of being and enable personal transformation & growth.

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Josephine Lewis is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and poet. She composes and performs original works with the collective Umbilica, exploring gender identity and connectedness through her poetry and songcraft. She has recently contributed to an anthology of women’s writing entitled “Talk About Change: Writing As Resistance.” She is particularly proud to be one of the three co-founders of She Speaks.

Jo is also a children’s music tutor, workshop leader, and the musical director of IWD Derby Rebel Women’s Choir. She has facilitated singing, songwriting and noise-making workshops to enable women to raise their voices in activism and at protest marches.