International Women's Month 2008 Listings

23 Maech - 29th march

Wed 26 Mar
The Vagina Monologues
A performance of Eve Ensler’s play in celebration of International Women’s Month, supported by V-Day UK. The performance will be followed by a party, auction and raffle.
The Bongo Club, 37 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh, EH8 8BA, 10pm, free, tel: 0131 558 7604, www.thebongoclub.co.uk

Sat 29 Mar/Sat 12 Apr
Significant Sisters: Key fiction, key themes
Introducing key women writers exploring women's roles in earlier periods, this two-day course discusses two unforgettable anti-heroines via Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace and Edith Wharton's Custom of the Country; one a contemporary novel steeped in the nineteenth century, the other a satirical story from 1913 that feels surprisingly modern. The course is led by writer and lecturer, Lynn Knight, author of a biography on Clarice Cliff.
The Women's Library, London Metropolitan University, 25 Old Castle Street, London, E1 7NT, 10.30am – 3.30pm, £45/£35 Concessions, registration required, tel: 020 7320 2222

Valerie Mason-John, who teaches a two day writing course 29 March.

Sat 29 Mar – Sun 30 Mar
Life in Fiction - writing course with Valerie Mason-John
This two day writing course in association with Spread the Word, will help you use autobiography as a springboard for writing fiction. Valerie Mason-John is an award-winning author of six novels, poetry and non-fiction. In 2006 she was awarded an honorary doctorate for her lifetime achievement and contribution to the African diasporas through her written texts.
Clapham Library, 1 Northside, Clapham Common, SW4 0QW, 10am – 4pm, £60/£40 Concessions, tel: 020 7735 3111, www.spreadtheword.org.uk

Sun 29 Mar
Women Leading the Community:
Gerty Archimède: The People’s Candidate:
Gerty Archimède from Guadeloupe was the first black woman to become a lawyer in France (1939). She became the first deputy parliamentarian in 1946. She fought tirelessly for women and the poor. This historical documentary by Mariette Monpierre will show the similarities and differences between the black women’s fight against racism in France and the UK.

The Sybil Phoenix Story:
From the 1960's Sybil was a foster parent to hundreds of unwanted children. She raised £64,000, opened and ran Moonshot in New Cross, the first black youth club in Britain. When the National Front burned it down in 1977 she rebuilt. She was a leader in the New Cross Fire campaign and the post Brixton negotiations. In the 1980's she set up the Marsha Phoenix Trust for homeless young women. Now 82 and still active in Lewisham. This film by Lucia Tambini contains interviews with Sybil, family and friends. The rare footage shows how bad racism was in the 80's and how much we take for granted today.
The screening is followed by a discussion with Sybil Phoenix and French women MP George Pau-Langevin.
Bernie Grant Art Centre, Tottenham Green, London, N15 4RX, 5 – 8pm, £8, tel: 020 8365 5450, www.berniegrantcentre.co.uk