Not many people know the name Aja Volkman, but when I heard about this project I couldn’t think of any more deserving living person of being shared. Aja is a strong and badass female role model. She was the front woman of Nico Vega from 2005 to 2018 when the band released their final EP, … Continue reading Aja Volkman – Tales from Wo-Fan’s Land
(A note about the writing to follow: I have used feminine pronouns to refer to Julie D'Aubigny below, as all sources I could find on her did this. However, she does not fit neatly into the gender binary of her time.) Julie D'Aubigny lived her life at the intersection of history and legend. She was … Continue reading Julie D’Aubigny – Tales from Wo-Fan’s Land
It is not possible within the confines of a blog post to list all the accomplishments of Ida B. Wells-Barnett. Her career was the embodiment of the term intersectionality – decades before the term was coined. She had her hands in women's suffrage, prison reform, desegregation efforts, fighting corruption in local politics, education reform, breaking … Continue reading Ida B. Wells – Tales from Wo-Fan’s Land
When I started to research Mary Kate Hunter, or Kate Hunter as she was known, I found myself discounting her efforts a bit, as she was part of the “leisure class” of society, her father was an attorney and she belonged to patriotic societies such as Daughters of the Republic of Texas and Daughters of … Continue reading Mary Kate Hunter: Texas suffragette and community organizer
Mary Crow Dog (nee Brave Bird). September 26, 1954 – February 14, 2013. Sicangu Lakota. Mother, grandmother, activist, writer. Beginning on February 27, 1973, the leaders of the American Indian Movement (AIM) and 200 Oglala Lakota people occupied the town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota for 71 days. This action was a result of the … Continue reading Mary Crow Dog (aka Mary Brave Bird) – Tales from Wo-Fan’s Land
Ask anyone to name the Queens of England and they will probably manage the two Elizabeths and Victoria, perhaps Queen Anne if they are keen on furniture and Bloody Mary if they really know their Tudors. Few know much about our first post-Norman Queen, the Empress Matilda. When she died the epitaph on her tomb … Continue reading The Empress Matilda (1102-1167) – Tales from Wo-Fan’s Land
Everybody wonders what will happen to them when they die.... Hidden in an annex of Chiesa della Santa in Bologna, the mummified corpse of St Catherine of Bologna sits on a golden throne. She wears her nun’s habit as she has done for centuries. Her black crisp fingers- darkened by the soot of innumerable candles- … Continue reading Saint Catherine of Bologna – Tales from Wo-Fan’s Land
Being an History in Verse of the Mother of the Societie of Friends. Meant For Musick or Plain Songge, mayhap with Guitarre or Squeze Bokse. Come gather round Friends, I've a story to tellof a seventeenth century north-country gel,she fought for the poor and for women as well,Yes, this is the ballad of Margaret Fell. … Continue reading The Ballad of Margaret Fell – Tales from Wo-Fan’s Land
An error that ascribes to a man what was actually the work of a woman has more lives than a cat.letter from Hertha Ayrton to the Westminster Gazette, 14 March 1909 It’s probably for the best that we don’t get to read our own obituaries. Because if Hertha Ayrton – scientist, engineer and suffragist – … Continue reading Hertha Marks Ayrton (1854-1923) – Tales from Wo-Fans Land
I first read about Dr. James Barry whilst studying with the Open University over ten years ago. I was fascinated by the story. Born around 1790 the doctor had an illustrious career, rising through the ranks of the British Army as a surgeon to become the Inspector General (equivalent of Brigadier) in charge of hospitals … Continue reading Dr. James Barry – Tales from Wo-Fan’s Land
History Is Important 