Her Kind: The Witch in History, Popular Culture & Poetry
Grand Opening Event: October 21, 2023
Chautauqua, Talk by Dr. Tracy Floreani, Artist Reception for Alysha Little
Her Kind
–Anne Sexton – 1928-1974
I have gone out, a possessed witch,
haunting the black air, braver at night;
dreaming evil, I have done my hitch
over the plain houses, light by light:
lonely thing, twelve-fingered, out of mind.
A woman like that is not a woman, quite.
I have been her kind.
I have found the warm caves in the woods,
filled them with skillets, carvings, shelves,
closets, silks, innumerable goods;
fixed the suppers for the worms and the elves:
whining, rearranging the disaligned.
A woman like that is misunderstood.
I have been her kind.
I have ridden in your cart, driver,
waved my nude arms at villages going by,
learning the last bright routes, survivor
where your flames still bite my thigh
and my ribs crack where your wheels wind.
A woman like that is not ashamed to die.
I have been her kind.
The Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry announces the opening of an upcoming exhibit that explores the symbolism, meaning and history of witches as they have appeared in our public discourse, institutions, folklore, film and TV history, and literature. There will be an emphasis on different issues, such as the “witch hunt” and how that phrase has taken on new political and cultural meaning in recent times.
The exhibit will include photographs, text, objects and more that describe women as diverse as Mother Shipton, Samantha from “Bewitched,” Mary Poppins and Tituba. An accompanying exhibit booklet will be given away free during the opening event. This booklet includes biographical information about 21 “witches,” original poetry by ROMP Directory Shaun Perkins, artwork by Alysha Little, and the text of the essay that Dr. Tracy Floreani of Oklahoma City University will deliver on the day of the opening.
Her Kind Poetry Contest: See Details Here!
Check back to this page or follow ROMP on Facebook as more details become available.
This program is funded in part by Oklahoma Humanities (OH) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in the program do not necessarily represent those of OH or NEH.
Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry 