Poetry from 'The Women in the Photographs' read by S. Reeson.

I’ve spoken to dozens of women over the last few months, all of whom have in some way been instrumental in helping me move forward as a poet over the last seven years. I've written poetry about all of them as a way of acknowledging what they have helped me achieve and simultaneously thanking them for support, understanding and care.

Some contributions have come simply because of friendship, others have been via professional advice or being taught by them in particular situations. Many of the women are also poets, and a particular group are exercise practitioners.

Every moment has altered me in some fashion. I am acutely aware of the effect these combined contributions have created in granting me strength, agency and increasing self-belief. It seemed only right and proper therefore to make my first exhibition a means of giving back.

We're going to celebrate them all, by shoving them all into a telephone box simultaneously. As a result and because space is tight, there's nowhere to actually read this work. That's where Zoom comes in, and that's what I intend to do for this hour, with some stories about why gratitude really matters right now mixed in with the process of how this exhibition has come into being.