Poem by Sarah M. Sala which addresses invisible illness, physical pain, and coming to terms with being ill. The first section of the triptych comprises nine stanzas which are then repeated and altered in the second and third sections.
Poem by Felicia Zamora that addresses topics of the body and its systems, language, and the archive. Includes an image of a mammogram as part of the poem.
Chopin, another celebrated female writer from the late 19th century, writes in an unpublished poem about the "ecstacy of madness." She takes something used to oppress women, in this case: madness, and celebrates the freedom of it. Although this is not a well-known work, Chopin frequently used her status as a writer to speak about the oppression of women. This particular poem calls attention to the ways in which Chopin was celebrated for her acts of resistence to the dominant culture.
Gilman's unpublished poem was written during the final months of her pregnancy with her only child. She cries out to God, asking for him to "help [her] to live" in a "noble and earnest and pure" way. Although this was written before she was subjected to the rest cure, Gilman's poem candidly explores her relationship to depression and mental illness.
