Dear Joanne,
In the early days,
they lauded you
for the way you sacrificed my beauty
for intelligence – so brave, that –
a bushy-haired, bucktoothed girl
who did her homework and saved the day
so the boys could come home safe.
|
Not exactly a hero,
but close enough, right?
Close enough to see the limelight
if not to feel its warmth.
|
You’d learned from your forebears
that girls don’t sell out at midnight.
Girls don’t get movie deals,
Girls don’t get to be legends, unless, of course
they tie their destiny to some boy
who thinks trauma history and charisma
mean he’s earned his place among the constellations.
Right? Who could blame you
for playing the game
well enough to win?
|
Joanne. Joanne.
We are underestimated women. Lies do not become us.
|
This isn’t a girl power tea party.
I know something of how it feels
to grow up thinking your Creator must hate you -
must want you lonely enough
to make you a Cassandra in your own story,
to write you at the intersection of principled and brave
only to be branded bossy – a boy’s pithy disgust that sticks.
|
To echo your critics – the one who called you lazy, formulaic, broad –
would be too easy. No, this is a wonderful little bit of spellcraft.
|
First, you gather a bouquet of everything you’ve ever hated
about another woman, or about being one.
|
Give the worry seven children and red hair.
Give the ambition a fussy hat and a taste for fascism.
Give curiosity a pair of glasses and lock her up forever. Make us laugh about it.
Give fatness a sadistic streak, but make it a punchline.
Make one really good at sports. Call it a personality.
Give grief a whole book to cry, but make us hate her for it.
Make loyalty an alcoholic.
Give the unapologetic sexuality her own species; make her devious and untouchable.
Give the coded queer a death sentence.
Strip the natural leader of her charisma and make sure no one listens.
|
Make intuition and perceptiveness a blond, so it’s easier buy her as the ditzy one.
Make intuition and perceptiveness a joke, and pit your women against her.
Make intuition and perceptiveness unstable, and punish them with pity and disgust.
(Do not acknowledge that intuition and perception have always been called witchery.)
|
Kill the perfect one before the story starts. Make her a mother.
|
Press them all
between enough pages
to stop a bullet.
They’ll last for generations,
colorful as they day you wrote them,
thin and brittle.
Lifeless, but yours, Joanne,
all yours.
|
(What familiar old songs these are.
No wonder men love your books.)
|
None of us were surprised
that you woke up on the wrong side of history.
|
No woman you ever wrote
survived without a price.
|
sincerely. yours.
Hermione
About the Creator
Dane BH
By day, I'm a cog in the nonprofit machine, and poet. By night, I'm a creature of the internet. My soul is a grumpy cat who'd rather be sleeping.
Top Story count: 17
Check out my Vocal Spotlight and my Vocal Podcast!
Reader insights
Outstanding
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Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Expert insights and opinions
Arguments were carefully researched and presented
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
Easy to read and follow
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Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Reaching Out
I promise her. I'd do anything for her. She's my mom. Even as Lanie and Deanna are flying home, Mom is scrappy fighting dying. She lays too still in that too-big bed with all the toasty white hospital blankets, in the south tower, at the broad end of a long slow-turning corner that delivers me again to her private room with the view she can't see through, with the beeping that tells us nothing new, and all these ice chips she can't swallow, and a flood of well-intentioned nurses who cannot do a damned thing all the same.
By Christy Munsona day ago in Fiction
Comments (22)
Powerful stuff! Well crafted. :)
Huh? I haven't read all of the books, well any of them for that matter, nor have I completed all of the movies. I understand that there's the desire for to have female characters to be independent, regardless of the roles, especially when male characters are involved. That makes sense. Yet, no one can succeed alone, as people are better together. Learning that we have faults and areas of expertise that we cannot master is important and humbling. Besides, last I checked, men and women loved her books. If we want to take it one step further one of the film director's actually favored Hermoine's character and wanted to make her shine above the rest. In doing so, there's not a whole lot of scenes were Hermoine is occasionally humbled. For instance, in a book to movie comparison review, Ron beats Hermoine in a few games of chess. Yes, Hermoine's more than smart, but by reducing Ron to comedic relief in the movies does no good in my opinion. Female empowerment should not equal male incapability/inadequacy. Something that would've really been great to see in the 1st movie would've been Hermoine making a potion as one of the tests, after that clear that carnivorous plant scene. Instead they made Ron panic, and Hermoine the savior, when all three had the ability to show case their strengths uniquely in the books. On a different note, in return to Your poem one of the lines that I can say I dislike is this one, "Give the worry seven children and red hair." In the assumption that You're talking about Molly Weasley it just throws me for a loop why she would be on the list. She's a good mother who made sure that her children never lacked for food, clothing, a roof over their heads, a sound education, and love in their hearts. Sure, we can say that she didn't stop trying to have a girl. That's a lot of families. If anything, Molly's a role model to look up to, and not one to shun. Sure, having a lot of children till the point of almost being in poverty isn't ideal (children are expensive), but besides that the Weasleys are typically a happy family. On a more positive note? Yes, I do agree with You that girls shouldn't have to tie their destiny to some boy. Yet, there is nothing inherently wrong with destinies intertwining. Everybody has their own path, and sometimes it's nice to walk that path with somebody. Besides that, if the women shouldn't have to compete against one another to define their worth, then why don't they team up to compete together, instead? Even if only the women were left, would the competition not continue and possibly be even more fierce?
A real winner… I’m lost for words. 👏🏼
Nice Article
Just incredible!
Congratulations...
Loved this! It's clear enough my Potter credentials don't compare to yours, Dane, but hopefully without making too much of a fool of myself I'd like to say your extended ruminations on Luna (stanza nine) are first-rate, especially the thought on which you close. It's not often JK herself engages with such questions, and her tirvializing comic aside on the Salem trials is perhaps her most painful moment among many. Stanza eight is superb too - over on the male side of things, I always felt that Renfield surrogate Barty Crouch Junior is another coded queer who, of course, receives the same sentence. What you rightly assert in stanza thirteen was indeed possible to see coming for some time, although that said, the merchandising's going strong to this day. Food for thought, pre-breakfast, so thanks, Dane!
ouch. . . this is lovely. well done, you.
good article
I enjoined this introspection of how an author portrays certain characters or dynamics. Congratulations on placing!
Congratulations 🎊💯❤️‼️
Outstanding!
Congratulations on the Top Story and the challenge placement.
This poem is akin to a blind person criticizing Picasso. The fact that Vocal chose this indicates the political biases of their platform.
Wow! I am ready for the march! This is an anthem!
Very cleverly and powerfully presented!
I must apologise, I know JK has been called out for her stupidity, but I don't really follow much of what's happening, but I think your poem tells me everything I need to know. It is so well crafted. Well done.
Also congratulations!! Well-earned for sure!
Woof, this hit me hard. What a powerful, mesmerizing, electric response to J.K. Rowling. So much of her perspective as of late has caused such pain, but it makes sense to revisit all of the harmful stereotypes she had already been supporting, how we should have all seen the misogyny and bigotry that was there. This is so well done. You did Hermione justice, I believe.
I think this should have placed first or second from what I’ve seen so far. Stunning. 💕
Oh nicely done!!! 👏👏👏
Wow! Amazing, absolutely amazing. Congratulations on the runner-up spot in the challenge. I wrote one for J.K. Rowling as well (called “To J.K. Rowling”, if you want to check it out), but it doesn’t hold a candle to yours. Again, congratulations.