Arts & Creativity

Stay tuned for original creative work inspired by ‘dangerous women’, including:

  • The first woman in England to demand a divorce
  • William Wordsworth’s inspiring sister
  • A 19th century astronomer who outshone her male colleagues to discover almost 400 stars.

We’ll also feature commentary and analysis on creative women across the years, from pop sensations to avant-garde painters.

 

Feeling artistic? Submit your own creative response to ‘what does it mean to be a dangerous woman?’

Alifa Rifaat's work delved into the desires and domestic lives of 20th century Egyptian women.

Alifa Rifaat

Writing women’s desires and domestic lives in 20th century Egypt

Alia Soliman looks at the ‘danger’ in the work of Egyptian writer Alifa Rifaat, whose ‘imprint lingers as someone who dared speak of female desire in what was at the time an almost completely patriarchal society’. Continue reading
Isabella Bird

Isabella Bird

Writer, explorer, trailblazer

In the second of a series of posts from Scottish PEN (a centre of PEN International, the worldwide association of writers promoting literature and freedom of expression), Jenni Calder explores the life and writing of Isabella Bird. Continue reading
Anna Komnene

Anna Komnene

Twelfth-century Greek Byzantine princess, historian, scholar–and conspirator?

Ioulia Kolovou takes a fascinating look at the way Byzantine princess Anna Komnene has been portrayed in history and literature as ‘dangerous’. Continue reading