tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14661386614561870502012-02-02T10:07:14.624-08:00Performer and PoetIwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.comBlogger291100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-27779634669238691832011-12-14T10:52:00.000-08:002012-02-02T10:07:14.642-08:00

“Lorraine is an exceptional creative project manager, she has an abundance of drive and energy with the experience and talent to take on and successfully deliver creative events covering a wide range of disciplines. I enjoyed working with her on several occasions and have attended several of her events.” ~ Andi Elliott, Director, Folkestone Fringe Festival  "It's been a real pleasure to have

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-5820593301257417072011-11-18T16:42:00.001-08:002011-11-18T17:12:33.069-08:00

After an incredibly long sabatical from my usual level of creativity I'm back on form and actually better than I've ever been.  Armed with new tactics for facing the innevitable critisism that comes with hyper-productivity I'm less doubting and more determined.  I spent over one month studying Katie Brazelton's mentoring book for women in which you take yourself before God and try to

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-89921754041635968932011-09-20T14:25:00.000-07:002011-09-21T02:25:22.135-07:00

I'm almost all the way through my NALD advanced mentoring year...so what have I been doing? Well, first of all it's been a great privilege to have worked alongside the brilliant Ira Lightman because when Steve Dearden first spoke to me about what I wanted from the scheme my answer was utter spaghetti, Ira unravelled that spaghetti and tried in his humble and Christlike manner to work with me in

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-23568501541031688712011-08-31T03:42:00.000-07:002011-09-13T15:18:49.894-07:00

Be yourself Be successful Stick up for your rights as a female. Lay down the law (when it comes to coming in late, borrowing your car, being a dirty stop out & asking for sex when he hasn't seen you all day) Be independent Overcome some deep-seated insecurity that means you no longer need him emotionally quite so much. Fail to "make him feel like a man" but insist he take responsibility

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-91466895868596817222011-08-26T08:33:00.001-07:002011-09-13T12:10:45.812-07:00

Social-i magazine was an initiative that was started by social-i website owner Rob Annison-Clarke and Lorraine Kashdan-Lougher, it was originally set up as a platform for upcoming poets and artists to exhibit their work but soon started receiving submissions from published and recognised authors, now in its forth edition the magazine sets the scene for some controversial topics and poetic

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-16342445310864362062011-05-22T17:54:00.000-07:002011-09-13T15:15:52.226-07:00

On Friday I started my mentoring programme.  The mentoring programme is provided by NALD (the National Association of Literature Development) and sponsored in my case by East Kent Live Lit, for which I'm eternally grateful. Ira Lightman was chosen as my mentor in a process which took far to long considering his suitability to the particular job at hand and our level of creative compatibility.

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-38706444812806692802011-03-31T07:50:00.000-07:002011-09-13T12:08:48.770-07:00

Parenting Autism With Autism - Other People's opinions Here Is a link to a series of articles I started at Aspire magazine and have decided to Hub due to the closure of Aspire. The original and related articles can be viewed on site by clicking the above link. Here is a small excerpt from the article on the subject of coping with a small baby:  Practicalities The practicalities of

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-64677197173385498582011-03-21T07:32:00.000-07:002011-09-13T12:09:30.761-07:00

 Disability access isn't just about being able to get a wheelchair through a door, it's about creating events, workshops and spaces where people who wouldn't normally be able to become involved are actually given access, that access isn't just about what we do and don't provide but about a kind of 'reaching out' to the meet the needs of those who are usually become excluded due to various

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-54147735263281389772011-03-13T04:19:00.000-07:002011-09-13T12:29:10.033-07:00

I had to attend an appointment this week which involved sitting in a waiting room with my daughter so I picked up a magazine: "what is that article about mummy?" my daughter says, "It's about a woman who was so scared that her boyfriend would kill her she arranged her own funeral" I say glibly turning the page, "and what is that article about mummy" she replies looking at the next page

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-50834131340134106622011-01-16T23:44:00.000-08:002011-09-13T15:16:33.208-07:00

Iwawoman was adopted as a personality or character to achieve a specific purpose.  When I didn't have the courage to experiment with certain ideas or explore certain concepts for myself I did so through her forthrightness and outspoken persona.  For many, the character is inseparable now from that of the originator, Lorriane Iwa Kashdan.  However, It is now time to move on from these things.

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-44097822725954375882010-11-18T05:17:00.000-08:002011-09-13T14:26:18.684-07:00

Please don't hate me because I live 24 hours a day in pain. Please don't hate me for the voices in my mind that are driving me insane. Please don't ask to swap places because you think that I can claim more money off the government than you because of the things that I go through. And please don't quote it as a reason why I have less responsibility, the responsibility I have is me, the

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-82714424635486921352010-10-20T05:39:00.000-07:002011-12-07T14:00:10.868-08:00

In one moment I am dead                                A seagull tries to peck at my eye He can feel that I am no more than meat In this moment In one moment the sand and sea become I  A reminder that I am like it nothing and all and everything in none. In one moment, there is no point and I wonder if I have ever lost when I have not yet been I scramble suddenly To catch myself

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-18467177198493930412010-10-13T02:50:00.000-07:002011-09-13T12:13:02.271-07:00

She asked me to talk about the silence men used in violence My eyes grew wide For a moment there I forgot about the subject Made tea Talked about something else Went silent.   I can hear the sound of people saying “Doesn’t he put up with a lot?” “How does he cope?” He Is so calm. He controls from the side of a room Using just a glance A sideways slide of the eye For those of

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-65961972929797498392010-07-02T01:41:00.000-07:002011-09-13T12:13:57.270-07:00

eighteen years I rolled these files out upon their rusty rollers clipping, clip, clip clip with paper cuts befriending my large crusty fingers. I come in a jacket, tweed and stiff with years of loyalty It's not the style the young men sport but sport was never my speciality eighteen years I walked my gentle brogues this hardened road watching pavement slabs replaced with pavement slabs

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-13754504456183473352010-04-07T15:08:00.000-07:002011-12-07T14:04:30.054-08:00

Although feminine I could be feindish throwing responsibility down like a pair of earings gladly out of ear shot from the bass that had pounded my past flip back, rip pull and drink cans like the tears that came after my baby's laughter had been ignored. and If i wished, I could let tea stains mount up like a memorial to my own lavish and lazy lifesyle and grin, pulling fags stains

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-85451742024148056872010-04-07T11:17:00.000-07:002011-09-13T12:16:13.587-07:00

My daughter taught me gravity in the bath. It's something we can't live without she said - or chickens would fly though they already fly she pointed out when men don't clip their wings. I thought of how I'd wanted to silence her And wondered if she was listening And if men don't clip their wings Then geese can fly too But we don't want to catch our dinner with a net and

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-7960910860305345272009-12-15T02:41:00.000-08:002011-09-13T14:27:06.275-07:00

I was asked to be guest poet at the book release performance for State of The Nation: Contemporary Zimbabwean Poetry. I decided to share my guest slot with two other members of the Think Tank, a newly formed group that arose from The Word group of performance poets. I guess we like to think of ourselves as more thoughtful and willing to be more experimental in our ideas about performance.

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-35378043436382054892009-09-25T14:54:00.000-07:002011-12-07T13:57:08.262-08:00

You Are the anti-type of the woman I never wanted to be, Mrs All American Plastic type hero.You brought us 70's type feminine freedoms for young minds, in stars and stripes with big, immobile hips, red lips, side kicks and less than adverterous tricks! But you were all we had to fixour small tired minds on at 4pm before the good natured mothers - so willing to please, in the

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-74684222871072962712009-04-23T16:53:00.000-07:002011-09-13T12:26:48.912-07:00

I am your famous mother breaking arching striving to blow and in moments I was the most famous and successful of them and they ate me, like the vaginal juices of the original sin till I withered like an antiquated Marilyn Monroe for whom people could laugh at and make jokes about my big arse and the sagging boobs that had nursed you and the hide that hid the fact that I had grossed. And you

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-3537836916773760652009-04-14T13:39:00.000-07:002011-09-13T12:29:57.534-07:00

I scratch the surface of the ceramic cooker scrubbing harder harder harder till my finger tips bleed then shine the tepid taps with a mixture of vinegar and wine. For me, the ironing pile gets high especially at night when I can fight you through the layers and layers of Islamic cloth I no longer wear And when morning comes there is no wood to burn in the fire so I hack and hack until I can

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-40445360167231538072009-04-03T03:58:00.000-07:002011-09-13T12:34:49.508-07:00

I am the mother of two children aged 5 & 6, the older one is diagnosed with autism the other is 'normal'. The autistic boy does not show the more typical social difficulties associated with the condition but has a fair degree of learning delay (according to the academic expectations of the education system currently in place) and has some behavioural problems when put into certain environments

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-90445825646885024692009-03-25T07:32:00.000-07:002011-12-07T14:07:39.448-08:00

I closed my vagina when it was severed like a cuttle fish sewn like a cucumber sliced down the centre I closed up my throat silenced my song clammed up slammed shut and ran I sit with my legs shut my pants tight and my jaw clamped When I offer you my mouth to suck sweetly on your silence I offer you my past my agony, my pain I entitle you to my bruises I invite you into my damage I ask you

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-15288188602884765532009-02-12T08:39:00.000-08:002011-09-13T14:20:40.526-07:00

Capernia was a gazelle! light-footed & unfettered, her copulated high-definition calf muscles tell me: "I am comfortable - thanks" Still my eyes grew tired, like glass marbles left lonely on a sun-scorched playground from staring. She can feel me like a titillating wind caught on the tail end of a feather. Her determination is furious, facetious. Once locked, I am held, harnessed handicapped

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-81834719548948252562009-02-11T04:39:00.000-08:002011-09-13T14:21:14.472-07:00

A crisp five across my facetells me she still loves meSteely, no-eyed motherdistant, wishful, thinking - gone.No soundsNo thoughts No me.I am not ready yetto be buried Into the hollows where your eyes once laidI want to shout:"I am still here!"but your burdened body weighs more than mineand the walls are concrete andthe floors are stone.I know what it feels like when you rememberThe bruises

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-12892962338304672032009-02-05T13:33:00.000-08:002011-09-13T14:22:24.798-07:00

I like the concept of writing as my alter-ego. The unbriddled, earthly, flesh-eating sadistic person that it, he, she is; but this does not make sense since the alter-ego of me is I! I feel confused. There is definately a divide of self, not the kind of divide decribed by RD Laing that is experienced as 'schitzophrenia' or bio-polar illness but a kind of wholeness in division, surely there must

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-35197245501714358382009-02-05T08:53:00.000-08:002009-02-05T13:07:46.515-08:00

I make no excuses for the ego-centric nature of my writing, though I, indeed, have more excuses than the average. I could blame it on the fact I am higher up the autistic spectrum than most, I could blame on past woes or bad upbringing but the simple fact is this: I am the centre of the universe.If it is any consolation to you (being that due to your own ego problems I will likely have offended

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-4910539036353775872009-02-04T15:13:00.000-08:002011-09-13T12:36:05.466-07:00

Us blacks Are mere toys for your middle class white joys, a display of brass, a pom, pom for your 'non class', a "W'appen" to your "hoorah's" But You can kiss my smooth cocoa arse when it comes down to boundaries where I am not bound, freedoms where lib's have been found. For I am not your friend for show, whom into the Schrieber you throw when the teeth of the

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-79451455986099208362009-02-04T14:31:00.000-08:002011-09-13T12:34:13.287-07:00

That name like a mirror, reflecting off my tongue. We share our eyes but that was then when we were young. My mother had been restless with the fondness that we held Those games games we played - sharing hairbands to be the same. I have your teeth but not your youth rising hotly from your cheesy breath. I drank that lentil soup like it was you. We wore Red jeans red jeans and ballet

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1466138661456187050.post-83893802649167869892009-02-04T04:01:00.000-08:002011-09-13T14:23:24.167-07:00

You abstracted the love rush with your anti lust love crush but a woman should hush when brushed Gasp when grasped and blush at a touch. There is a moment a man is more powerful than a woman: "She has come to greet A man she does not know a moment's brief enough for her to leave the catch undone. A thousand men she slay, subdue and made obey" A kingdom his - an

Iwawomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812178186786964224noreply@blogger.com0