Cherry Potts, Writer

Category: history

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 20th February

    Here we go: A Woman of Mystery…don’t know when her birthday was, don’t know who she is, beyond she wrote a book Either is Love which explores the life of a woman who first has a lesbian relationship and then a heterosexual one. Published in 1937. I have a vague recollection of having read this…

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 19th February

    I am so behind with this project, I’ve been too busy performing and preparing, and editing video and so forth. However, she says, mopping sweat from brow, dusting flour form hands and straightening the metaphorical party dress; yes so, sorry, the 19th was Carson McCullers birthday. I love Carson McCullers books, they are magnificently gloomy,…

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 18th February

    Raise your glasses in honour of Audre Lorde, 1934-1992 who described herself as black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet. One of the women who taught me it was ok to be angry, in fact, more than ok, essential. My sexuality is part and parcel of who I am, and my poetry comes from the intersection of…

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 17th February

    Today we bake a cake for Dorothy Canfield Fisher February 17, 1879 – November 9, 1958. Dorothy was a great friend of fellow writer, Willa Cather, they wrote great quantities of letters, which in the main we cannot read as Cather’s will forbade the publication of, or quotation from her letters. (Apparently the way to…

  • LGBT History month: reading at North Kensington Library – video

    This week I did two readings from Mosaic of Air for LGBT History Month, the first at North Kensington Library. (note about the videos: my website randomly allocates different formats to video, not all of which work with internet explorer: they all work with Mozilla Firefox so try that of you can’t see them!) Here…

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 16th February

    Today we celebrate a much feted doyenne of the American stage, Katherine Cornell February 16, 1898 – June 9, 1974, known to her friends as Kit. Kit had a long career on stage but made only one brief appearance (as herself) on film, and a few TV appearances. She was universally admired at the time…

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 15th February

    Right, back to the history (and as an aside I’ve realised what I’ve been doing here – echoing Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls, a play in which various female icons from history and myth – Isabella Bird, Pope Joan, Lady Nijo, Dull Gret, Patient Griselda – gather together for a meal.) Today’s birthday belongs to Susan…

  • The ACTUAL Birthday-Tea Party 14th February

    Ok, a break from the history (nobody available anyway) and a big sloppy birthday kiss for my best girl for the last 30 plus years, Alix. Alix is 72 today, and sharing her birthday with Mr Valentine makes going out for a meal unbelievably tedious, so that’s tomorrow. The Actual Tea Party is Sunday, the…

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 13th February

    Once more, no specific birthday, so skipping ahead to the 19th for which there are several, let’s make the acquaintance of Constance Maynard, 19/2/1849-1935 was a pioneer of women’s education and the first mistress of Westfield College. She worked at various times and ladies colleges with other education pioneers Frances Dove, Louisa Lumsden, Ann Dudin…

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 12th February

    Once more I am short of a specific birthday to celebrate, so back to the seventeenth century and to Frances Apsley 1653–1727. Frances was the object of affection of a youthful Mary Stuart, who became that strange binomial monarch ‘William&Mary’, or more correctly Mary II of England. Mary was older sister to Queen Anne, and…