Spoken word artist Hazel Hogan tackles wide-ranging societal issues in her work – from the housing crisis through to mental health.
To celebrate International Women's Day, we're delighted to publish her poem Stories and strikes.
Stories and strikes
I can still hear the echoes
Of belly laughter erupting
From my mother and aunties
Their mouths cracking wide
Into lightning bolt smiles
The sparks of electricity
Live from the stories they
Shared as we sat around
That old table on late nights
These women have taught me
All that I know to be true
And as I grew with them they
Shared stories of the strikes
That we women have fought
Through to bring about rights
When we were denied access
To leading our own lives and
All that we have been through
To get to this time when my
Life is not led by design of
You are a child and then a bride
These women have taught me
All that I know to be true
Through those late nights
Their sparks of electricity
Stirred something within me
I can still feel the hearth
Of a blaze burning and erupting
From my sisters and friends
Our mouths cracking wide
As we scream for something new
The shared sparks of electricity
The catalysing lightning bolt of this
Strike echoing through the streets until
Everyone will listen to us women
Listen and let our stories teach you
All that we know to be true
