Estrogeniously Yours

          Estrogenius; a form of brilliance found only in the thoughts and imaginations of women. See: Hedgebrook.So of course Hedgebrook brought the voices of women to Seattle's art fest Bumbershoot, bringing five writer/performers (including visionary Director/author Amy Wheeler) to the Words & Ideas stage.Storme Webber, Karen Finneyfrock, Tara Hardy & Rose Mc Aleese made up the chorus of intertwined and solo voices and it was good.  Our voice is not  naturally embraced or if it is allowed for  after all it may be so casually eased over into the margins. As if. I mean as if we are not the ones who must be heard at this moment more than ever ever before. Mothers whether or not we birth from our bodies and daughters of  The Mother the animating loving endlessly compassionate force. We who listen close and hear soft and see sharp the edges of the path and what must be done to walk it right. Who sing what we comprehend in our own particular key. Soundings.Deep blooded soundings memory heart blood body bone deep. Remembering. Recalling all those who fell before they could  fly, were silenced and even still. We sing for them in open spaces, smashing chains with words to loose musings liberation of ideas of a free world. Telling the truth and shattering the lie, we.  We who are not the problem.  We who are more than likely the solution, the righting of a world turned upside down and sideways with avariciousness and ego and the absent woman's voice so often.So in a day where we were needed Amy brought us with our words and souls and voices to the stage and it was good.Sing a song of we what we see say feel lived and lived through make it true and bold and fearless.That was a moment for that and eye to eye listen and respond in full kind we did go.Again, thank you Hedgebrook, for the tending and the making way and the laughing as we go and the healing that makes us mighty mighty  as we climb.Thank you. Together we remake we mend the world in need of our heart's songs and the power the  clear wisdom of our visions. Internationally nurtured poet, playwright, teacher, and performer Storme Webber creates blues-influenced, socially engaged texts about Two Spirit identity, art activism and the intersection of race, class, gender, sexuality, memory, and spirit. Her performances are an innovative melding of text, theater and acapella vocals. She has numerous publication, performance and production credits, and has been a Writer in Residence at Richard Hugo House, Seattle Arts & Lectures and Red Eagle Soaring Native Youth Theater. Presently in Goddard College's MFA-Interdisciplinary Arts program, and developing the multimedia performance/text "Noirish Lesbiana". She's featured in the award-winning documentary Venus Boyz. Her website: www.stormewebber.com is presently under construction; she can be reached at storme.webber@goddard.edu Hedgebrook supports visionary women writers whose stories and ideas shape our culture now and for generations to come. The opinions expressed here are not necessarily representative of the opinions of Hedgebrook, its staff or board members.