The author and spoken word artist’s delivery is full of tenderness and humour as she confronts the outdated notions of innocence that surround women
T
he latest collection by the poet Hollie McNish is dedicated to anyone who has been “blamed, shamed, pressured, tortured, dehumanised, de-mothered over a man-made concept about your own body”. Virgin is a series of poems and prose stories aimed at busting myths and challenging stereotypes about sex and the body.
McNish tackles the persistently weird and outdated notions of innocence and purity around young women: “Do not tell me which touches have mattered the most / This is your obsession not mine.” In Send Nudes she notes how any shame about those who have sent “a snapshot of your body stripped autumn bare” lies with the person who broke trust by sharing or mocking it, and not with the sender.
McNish narrates and, as you’d expect from a poet and spoken word artist, she brings her entire self to her performance, as though she is in the room. Her reading is expertly paced, withering in places and full of tenderness and humour.
