How to Silence a Woman Writer #1 "Dirt, spit and poetry" Imagine a woman who wanted to be a writer, but didn't dare write when her husband was around. Too far-fetched? Not in this day and age? Well, I know one that happened to. Here in Scotland. Not that she got much of a chance to write anyway, with a houseful of kids. So she'd wait till the wee ones were in bed. Then she'd wait till her man was asleep, creep downstairs, quietly shutting all the doors. Holed up in the living room she'd tap out stories on a small portable typewriter. But typewriters are noisy, clattery buggers. Even wee portable ones. So she'd balance it on a pillow on her knee to stifle the clickety-clack of the keys. For a while it worked. She started to get her stories published in magazines. Then he copped on to her infidelity. Burst in one night, caught her red-handed. In a rage he battered the typewriter off the walls. Then he battered her. The typewriter was broken beyond repair. But the writer wasn't. She eventually escaped the husband - not without a lot of difficulty - saved for a new typewriter and now has poetry collections, novels and prizes to her name.
Thanks for sharing!