Hi everyone!

Just wanted to pop on here and share the good news: I got a poem published!

And I wanted to let you all know about the feminist-horror zine, Last Girl Club, that I submitted it to (because I think it’s really cool!)

• 

They hung around her like flies

Too young

Too alone

They whispered.

But still I crawled out of that

Abused womb with one

Of my own-

One lifeless body

To another-

Along with another voice,

Another face

Where soft baby skin

Should have been.

Love Child by Rebecca Leivesley

Keep Reading…

---

The title of my piece is Love Child- meaning an illegitimate child or bastard- who survives on the whispers of their parasitic twin and is ultimately seen as unlovable because of how ugly she looks

In the poem I explore the genre of pregnancy/ body horror that can be seen in many horror films. This genre tends to exploit the trauma of pregnancy and childbirth as well as the female body. I wanted to subvert this trend and probe it from the baby daughter’s perspective- who is born with a second face, a demon face- in order to heavily question feminine beauty ideals and why one has to be beautiful to be deemed worthy of life.

The Zine, Last Girl Club, is a fairly new Zine created by Eda Obey. I think it’s so amazing that she has been able to create an unapologetic space for us to explore these feminist issues separate from the male gaze, while also being horror-based. In her own words: ‘It’s fearless, feminine, sometimes fairy-tale based, and usually ends with blood. My heroines are flawed, angry, not interested in being loved, and not afraid to get ugly.’

---

• 

---

What She’s Looking For:

‘I want stories from the female gaze (think Aliens, Resident Evil, Hereditary, Tank Girl). I’m tired of reading what men want to do to us. I want to read what we want to do to them. Bring me smart female protagonists whose first inclinations are not to seduce the guard to get out of situations; they’ve got skills, they can get violent easily. I’m fine with them developing over the course of the story into someone like that, but please don’t revert to clichés unless you have your tongue firmly in your cheek. Please don’t use graphic rape for fridging purposes. If it’s part of a character’s backstory or development, fine, but don’t shoot the damn dog just to piss off your main character.’

---

Submissions are accepted from Jan 1-Feb 1, April 1-May 1, July 1-Aug 1, Oct 1-Nov 1 and each submission period comes with a different theme, so check out their website to see the latest!

---