COLLINS, Sophie
small white monkeys. On self-expression, self-help and shame

“Small white monkeys stretch around in the dirt beneath a tree but do not get dirty. They pick themselves up and dash away across the concrete plane, bobbing out of sight. They are silent.”
—Sophie Collins

Made through research into Glasgow Women’s Library’s Archive Collections and Lending Library, small white monkeys incorporates material from the library’s archives and the work of female creators past and present, including Anna Mendelssohn, Jean Rhys, Selima Hill, Adrian Piper, June Jordan, Denise Riley, Carolee Schneemann, Vahni Capildeo and Veronica Forrest-Thomson. A fragmented essay, including poems and images, the text examines the author’s relationship with shame through a series of short studies on, amongst other things, cats, hair as a metonym for the self in poetry and fiction, and perceptions of sexual violence. [publisher’s note]

Published by Book Works, 2017
Design by Erik Hartin
Essays / Poetry