Are You Judging Me Yet?

Moore, Kim ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7756-431X (2023) Are You Judging Me Yet? Seren, Bridgend. ISBN 9781781726877

Published Version File not available for download. Available under License In Copyright. Download (3MB)

Abstract

In Are You Judging Me Yet? Kim Moore explores the relationship between poetry and everyday sexism, in a series of lyrical essays. They draw on her experience of writing and performing the poems in her Forward Prize-winning collection All The Men I Never Married to examine the dynamics of being a female poet performing in a public space. ‘Are you judging me yet, are you surprised?’ is the line from one of Moore’s poems, and challenges the reader to consider their response to a female poet. These essays consider problems with the male gaze and explorations of what the female gaze might look like in poetry, the concepts of complicity, guilt and objectification, the slipperiness of the word sexism and whether poetry can be part of transformational change. Moore says, “I believe the time is right for a book like this to make an impact. As a female poet, I know there is a need for such a book to examine the intersection between writing, performing, feminism and sexism. I’ve had many conversations with other female poets who have confirmed my thinking – that female poets are navigating these things regularly, and yet it is still difficult to discuss or write about their impact openly. Are You Judging Me Yet? is designed to encourage readers to make their own connections between the essays. Each chapter ends with a choice of sections to read next, as well as connecting the essays to poems from All The Men I Never Married.