Poetry is often described as a powerful flow of emotions: a rush of beautifully orchestrated words that binds someone from one end of consciousness to the other. It is something that is experienced – both by the writer and the reader. So, do emotions have a gender? And the language that we use to construct our emotions – does that have a gender as well?

As a Feminist, I am bound to say yes! Yes, emotions are gendered. Language is gendered, too. We are socialised into enacting a specific gendered role, albeit, our behaviours and emotions. Our language, which is our tool of communication, is also carefully constructed using patriarchal gender binaries. We are conditioned to communicate using prescribed gender norms.

So what happens when a feminist begins to write her emotions? She has to consciously shift away from patriarchal linguistic norms to express herself. She has to express herself in a new language – one that dissolves these gender binaries. A language that echoes of inclusion and diversity. When a feminist begins to write, she creates a new form of poetic expression: one that cannot be restricted through social and linguistic boundaries.

Since it is World Poetry Day, I give you my top five feminist poets:

Adrienne Rich: was one of the most influential feminist poets of the twentieth century. Her poetry openly expresses her radical feminist and political views, and addresses issues of racism, gender, politics, history and society.

Audre Lorde: described herself as a “black, lesbian, mother, warrior poet.” Her poetry expresses her anger and rage at homophobia, sexism and racism. A conscious intersectionalist, her poetry can be read a reaction towards Western feminism of upper-middle white women.

Paula Gunn Allen: was a Native American poet and a lesbian activist. Her poetry captures the mysticism of Native American cultures; advocating the rights of the Native American women who are de-emphasised by mainstream American culture. Allen’s poetry reclaims femininity through narratives of tradition and ethnic cultures.

H.D: was a highly innovative and experimental poets of the high modernist traditions. Her works encapsulate the modernist anxieties and experiments with psychoanalysis, mythologies and feminism. Her style is extremely hybrid, creating poetry that are complex, fragmented and layered.

Kamala Das: was one of the most prominent Indian poets writing in English. Her fiery poetry indulges in female sexuality, women’s issues and politics. Her open castigation of patriarchal structures made her a social outcast of her time. Love, betrayal and female sexual desire features as central themes in much of her work.