Cat Power, Manhattan

from her latest album, Sun (Matador Records).

Eve - poem written and read by Luciana Francis

The Mistress Bookshelf: More Than A Great Quote for Your Wall.

 Well-behaved Women Seldom Make History -

                                                                                 Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

image source: http://unews.utah.edu

Find out more here.

Marin Alsop (b. 1956), Conductor and Violinist

The first ever female conductor at the" world's largest and longest running music festival", the Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London .

On one hand I am extraordinarily proud to be the first woman to conduct but I am also sad that it is 2013 and there still can be firsts for women. I think we have to create more opportunities for women to be seen in these types of leadership roles.

                                           - Marin Alsop on BBC World News Today, April 19th 2013.

For more information on Marin Alsop's work please click on the link that is this post's title.
For more information on this year's BBC Proms, click here.

Know Your Place, Woman - Poem by Luciana Francis

know your place, woman

and that place is the world

know the ways of  the world

so you can take it on

know your worth so you can

go as far as you were made to go

don't forget where you came from

and don’t go back if you don't want to

know you battles and your blessings

and count them on

know about the women before you

and what they had to fight for

know your name, woman

and let it be known.

:: Mslexia Poetry Pamphlet Competition Rules :: (deadline june 17th 2013)

:: Mslexia Poetry Pamphlet Competition Rules ::

"Unladylike Behaviour" and the Expectations Around Womanhood, from The Independent

Greta Garbo and John Gilbert in Queen Cristina (1933)

Funny how around the same time I have posted Hilary Mantel critique of the scrutiny and awe surrounding the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton, The Independent has posted this article on the social panic caused by the so-called "unladylike behaviour" and the expectations imbued in the premises of femininity.

You can read the article here.

Annemarie Jacir, Filmmaker

"I don't think women make different kinds of films to men. You just want to be a film-maker. Yes, I am Palestinian, yes, I am a woman – but I am so many other things too... it does box you in at times."

Annemarie Jacir

Annemarie Jacir is the first female Palestinian feature film director. She talks to The Independent about the mixed blessings of such denominators.  Read more here.

Jacir's new feature, 'When I Saw You' will be shown tonight as part of the BEV 2013 Opening Night Gala. If you are in London, do not miss the Birds Eye View Film Festival which runs until March 10th 2013 in cinemas across the city (BFI, Hackney Picture House, ICA and Barbican).

When I Saw You by Annemarie Jacir

For more information , you can visit the Birds Eye View website here. 

Maria Sibylla Merian, naturalist - scientific illustrator (1647 - 1717)

Born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1647, Maria Sibylla Merian, a pioneer botanic illustrator who "helped to transform the field of entomology". (source)

And so many people today, myself included, came to know Merian's work thanks to a Google's doodle on its homepage.

Minha Prosa na Revista Capitu

Uma das prosas que escrevi em Portugues foi recentemnete publicada na Revista Capitu. Para ler "Alice Acordou do Outro Lado do Livro", inspirada tanto em "Alice no Pais das Maravilhas" quanto na 'macabeisse' de ser Paulista em Londres e' so' dar uma clicada aqui.