Wild Women at the Raymond Williams Award for Community Publishing, London. Our very first, self-created book Howl at the Moon is shortlisted for the prestigious award and we travel to London to attend the ceremony...How do we do it?
People have often asked me how Wild Women Press has continued the work it has done over the years. There are four main answers to this.
One, is collaboration and generosity. Myself and many other women, and men, have worked for nothing to help make the ideas manifest. As the founder and director of the group/projects, I have occasionally raised funds to support my work as a facilitator, but have never received payment for my project management, editorial work, web development, mentoring or general administration or any of the other work I have put in developing Wild Women. Adam, who over the years has created wonderful designs and book for us, has received payment for this on one or two occasions where possible. All the women from Wild Women have, at some point or other, worked voluntary in publishing, web design, group management, administration, fundraising, event organisation, workshop facilitation and of course, writing and performing. Over the years, we have had the pleasure of sharing our work with many fantastic, international poets and performers. When possible, we have paid them for their art, but often they have given us this gift for less than usual, or for free. People have offered to support our work from all over the world, and we are eternally grateful for this human generosity, especially in a time of money-madness.
Two, is financial input - there are some costs you cannot avoid, so through small funds that we have raised from various public sources (when we have time and energy to fill in the endless forms) plus our revenue from book sales and events and our own personal contribution of food, venues, tools and such - we have usually had enough to ensure that the books can be published and the events go ahead. Because we want out books and events and projects to be accessible for all, we keep our charges and prices as affordable as possible - it doesn't give us the high profits (or any actually!) of go-for-it gurus and celebrity spas, but Cumbria is a rural, low income county. It is also very sparsely populated and large so we can't reach huge crowds, but that doesn't stop us putting on a fantastic show for those who come - and often, people travel over 200 miles to come to a Wild Women event or workshop - over mountain and stream indeed! If it reaches people, here and further afield, it is succeeding. But yes, the gold coins help and with more, we could do more.
Three, is through sheer Wild Woman Will and Vision...sometimes it takes a little blood, grunts and refusal to give in to see something born!
And four is simply faith, self-belief and the cosmic rightness of being - believing in the dream helps bring about that little bit if essential magic (and gets you through the really hard bits too!)
Obviously, I want to pay everyone a fair return for their contribution, including myself. And there are so many more things that could happen, if we had the funds, so many more dreams in the pot. In 8 years, it has cost 'money and fair words' to all of us, as my mother-in-law would say. One day, I hope that the intrinsic social and artistic value of this kind of grass roots activism is recognised and supported by those who have funds - it would be lovely if a patron or funder approached me and said "We recognise the value of Wild Women. Here is a big pot of money - use it to develop and continue your work" but, in the meantime, what do we do?
It has always been my view that we create the world we live in - and thus it follows that my actions affect that world. Not in a huge way like a politician, but in the immediate way - in the lives of the people I meet, in my life, in the space I create around me. It is easy to say "well, what can I do about anything?" and resign it all over to A. Nother, but I don't hold with that. For me, direct creative action brings about positive change, and this has underpinned Wild Women over the years. If you have a dream, find a way of making it happen. If you have something important to say, find a way of saying it out loud. If you see a need around you, or feel one within you (it is a good place to start), or know someone who has reached out to you and said "I wish this existed..." then do something about it. And if you need someone to support you in your journey, reach out.
Of course, with funds, all this can be achieved in a larger sense, on a wider scale. The financial support to pay artists and organisers helps to empower women to practically support their creative journeys (and helps us move away from the tradition that views women artists as hobbyists), as well as help to create amazing artefacts and experiences and help bring about positive change within our communities. Over 8 years, during the time I have worked developing Wild Women, we have worked with over 1500 women, published 11 titles, held over 100 live poetry and art events, performed across the UK, made connections across the globe, hosted many fabulous artists in Cumbria, supported the journeys of women and men at all stages of their lives, held 8 annual retreats and created a strong and amazing 'clan' that continues to witness the growth and journey of each member.
And we have done that ourselves, because we can. Not because we have any 'advantage' - we are rural, isolated, broke, holding down jobs, supporting families, going through life. We give birth, grieve, love, lose, get pissed off, celebrate, despair, moan and procrastinate on occasion. We have different backgrounds, we are different ages, we have different dreams. Myself, I began this when recovering from a breakdown. Hell, there are some stories that could make you weep with sorrow - and others that would make you leap with joy. The fact is, the seed I began with was this:
if you dream it, do it...be yourself in this world, because that is the wildest and most powerful thing you can do.
Life is too short to wait for circumstance to give me permission to live, love, create. I give that to myself. Through my work, I hope I give that to others, and in turn, they give that to their families, friends, co-workers, communities. This is the spirit of Wild Women, and I hope that the work I help to put out into the world inspires people to take their own journeys and to do away with that voice that says "but I can't..."
You can. We can.
