International Women's Day Feature

What's going on everyone,

Some of you may not be aware but today (March 8) is International Women's Day.

To mark this day, I will be doing a rare feature to showcase some of the finest writing by some of deviantART's finest female writers. 

To begin with, I present you with 8 female writers and 3 pieces from their galleries (the eighth day of the third month):

1.

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2.

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3.

Price of Love"Girlfriend," Boyfriend"
They're just titles,
Not contracts.
No one holds the deeds to my heart,
My love is not for sale, and
My affection can't be bought;
Official love is just an investment
In my interests, and a price
I'm just not willing to pay,
It's a debt I will not welcome,
A ransom I won't give into,
A deal I will not make.   Free to Writestave off me not, let me wander free
off to the lands of make-believe
constraints of spoken word are pardoned
when written down, when thought-out and hardened
ideas and images, all inscribed
details, emotions are described
language is given new, bright life
when otherwise, with laws, it is rife
rules of context, set and stone
are dashed away, left alone
we need not to speak in terms of understanding,
just freewill, minds expanding
pause the pressings of reality's inhibitions,
remind me not of my human condition
let me free, let me write
let me wander, free of plight
allow me to lose myself for days,
lost in this poetic haze  My Sunshineyou are my sunshine,
blinding, burning, starving me
and yet, i need you

4.

holding hands into the nightThe starships align in a billowing constellation of gravity and shimmer down on the firefly-studded cities below.
the rain brings sweet whispers of hushed voices in the night, when the tires squeal against oil and someone realizes that they love someone, too.
There's a day when the cacophony of chitchat is cloaked in chocolate and lined in velvet, and nights are reserved for twilight-soaked kisses and blooming roses.
little girls wash their faces of innocence and swipe on glittery lipgloss, while the older sit in their car, swabbing mascara over their eyelashes and praying to someone that they'll be picked. something waiting in their locker. doe-eyed as if someone plucked the stars from the sky and stuck them in their pupils.
Puppy love fires its tinted arrow at unsuspecting teens, and does away with stereotypes in favor of scarlet and magenta wishes. Smoke and mirrors pirouette around the world, as one person after another come down with a case of heavy crushes.
but it's not like ther   you are what you eatdomine, adiuva me


i never wanted this
to happen the way it
happened.
it was supposed to be so
clean-cut;
i was supposed to be gone before
they even
noticed.
cunabula me
there was
screaming and shouting
and vomit and
oh-my-god
where are my fingers?
my vision is so blurry,
ice cold water rising up,
touching my chin.
i do not remember
how i got here.
i do not remember
i do not remember
i do not remember when i
vomited upon my body,
nor when i was lain
naked.
diligo mihi
there was an open
bottle of pain meds when she
walked through the door.
three little white pills
lined up,
the rest missing from their
plastic jail.
where are the pills, she asked.
where are the rest?
she found her baby in the bedroom,
lying face down
in her own vomit.
she found the pills.
interficiet me
i was not sorry until
i woke up the next day,
vomiting up blood
and my own guts, and my
sister called me
crying.
i was not sorry until
she sobbed, "i was so worried
about   <da:thumb id="434670874"/>

5.

   

6.

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7.

What may be a dream?Oh, what may be a dream but wishes mute?
Those thoughts that dance and prance a time or two?
The silent longings of the heart set free
To lift the spirit from chambers dark and cold.
A dream is as a morning mist of spring;
Refreshing, light, and gently promising
To all who sleep and wake in time to catch
The welcome peace and glory they behold.
But woe to waking hours; the bitterness they bring
When dreams escape the loving hold of thought!
The plaintive heart starts longing once again
To sink into the realms of possibility.   Dear SandmanI don't want to feel.
I don't want to think.
I just want to get some sleep.
My mind is tormented when I am awake,
and my heart never seems to catch a break.
So please, Dear Sandman, bless me with rest.
Escape into dreams will help me the best.   Mirror, MirrorMirror, mirror, so pristine,
can you tell me everything?
You show me how I appear,
but do you show me what I fear?
Do I fear my own rejection,
or that I am not perfection?
Mirror, mirror, standing there,
do you really even care?
I come before you everyday,
thinking of another way.
Trying to find my identity
hiding in your serenity.
Mirror, mirror, who am I,
in this world that's rushing by?
I'm always trying to be tough,
but sometimes it's just not enough.
My mask is that of being strong,
and never, ever, being wrong.
Mirror, mirror, by my bed,
can you explain what's in my head?
All these thoughts are hard to take;
sometimes I think I'm gonna break.
My armor slowly falls apart,
exposing my vulnerable, beating heart.
Mirror, mirror, don't you see?
I want someone to protect me.
I need someone who'll always be there,
not someone who'll eventually tear
my heart, my soul, out of my chest,
even though I tried my best.
Mirror, mirror, broken now,
why did you never tell me how?
How crazy I coul
8.

The Hierophant
He sits upon a throne of skulls and ponders myth and legend.
The owl beckons and the wolf’s ears twitch.
“Tell us, oh great master, what shall we do?” A peasant kneels at his feet.
The question is always the same.
All who seek counsel are charged and granted the burden of choice. Marked by the points on the pentagram star, payment must come in five years.
Directions are given and a pact is made.
So long a stretch of time—it seems—and one easily forgotten, but a deal waged is not soon relinquished.
Year five passes. Silence fills his sacred chamber.
The choice is no longer theirs.
The wolf will hunt, and a new skull will adorn his master’s throne.   Only a DreamThe bizarre stench of chlorine and wet earth wafted through the air. We crept over a fence and into an abandoned yard. Shimmering lights drew my attention to a huge in-ground pool. There, water rippled from side to side, dragging with it the body of a large dead dog. Poor thing. It must have been running, too.
“We have to keep moving,” said Mom.
I took a deep breath and turned back around. Cold air chilled my face, so I cupped my hands over my mouth and nose, puffing warm breaths into my palms.
The rain had stopped, but the sky was still dark. Bright white stars shone through patches where storm clouds didn’t. In the distance, I saw blurred auras of flickering streetlamps. Mom grabbed my wrist and jerked me to come along with her. The power hadn’t gone out on this side of town, and we needed to move on before it did.
I’d lost track of my husband back at the restaurant and had to keep telling myself he was smart enough to make it—t 


There are far more than 8 female writers on deviantART, of course. And some of them could really benefit from exposure.

That's why I would love to present you to a dear friend and beloved soul...LadyLincoln

Hi, I'm Lady Lincoln and for those of you who aren't already aware, I am the author of an ongoing series of feature articles called Ladies of Lit. 

The premise here is simple. Below you will find an assortment of Literature features from a selection of female deviants here on DeviantART, all of them suggested by you.

To get a better idea of what this entails, I would like to show you the latest version of the article:



I am always looking for suggestions so don't hesitate to me if you find a female writer that you think ought to get some appreciation!

You heard the lady! If you're looking for a way to show your appreciation for every girl and woman in your life, here is a place to start.

For those of you who are more active on other social networks, have no fear! If you want to do something for Women's Day, share some artwork that celebrates the females in your life or some of the female characters that you admire (actresses, writers, video game characters, TV/film characters, comic book characters, etc.)

And...for those who are so inclined, don't hesitate to click to donate!

You can start by clicking here:

www.care2.com/click-to-donate/…

thebreastcancersite.greatergoo…

The links below will direct you to a site where if you click the button, money will be donated to go towards ending violence towards women or funding research and medicine against breast cancer.

And if none of those options are good for you:

Just do something nice to a girl or woman you know. Compliment your neighbour, say hello to that girl in your class, thank your mother for a meal well made! 

Before I close, I'd like to give a shout out to my Cuban amigo who has posted a similar journal about Women's Day in Spanish:

Feliz Dia Internacional de la Mujer por adelantadoHola a todos!
Mañana es el día internacional de la mujer, mañana sabado no tengo conección a internet así que me adelantaré ya que quiero aprovechar para felicitar a todas las mujeres, en especial a mis mejores amigas, mis hermanas de DA: y mujeres a las que que aprecio mucho.
Espero que tengan un Feliz dia como también un buen fin de semana
:iconsolkorra::iconjaysythehedgehog::iconmelanithecat::iconpaty-longbottom21::iconannafox::iconpasiva16::iconimaginer-fox::iconsaturnmoonco::iconrukifox::iconalectorfencer::icon170294::iconalimera::iconani-sempai::iconhotrodsimpulse::iconluna777::iconluudiborxdd::iconmorgan96k::iconpeachfuzz::iconsweetlyloo::iconwolfroxy::iconwolfenys::iconlostkingdom: 

And just because I can't resist:

100 Years, 100 DaysWoman
Opposite, equal
Maiden, Mother, Crone
Parent, Confidante, Teacher and Friend
Sibling, Playmate, Mentor and Paramour
Unbowed, Unchained, Unyielding
From today
Forever