Femina Culpa is a poetry collective bringing together four poets based in County Down and Belfast: Emma McKervey, Milena Williamson, Linda McKenna and Kelly Creighton. Their most recent poetry collections have all been inspired by the stories of nineteenth century women who were caught up in the criminal justice system or who were victims of crime. Their work has been based on archival research and seeks to uncover the voices of these women through poetry.
- Emma McKervey’s Highland Boundary Fault includes poems based on a Scottish court case in her family history.
- Milena Williamson’s Into The Night That Flies So Fast deals with the case of Bridget Cleary murdered by her family who claimed she was a fairy changeling.
- Linda McKenna’s Four Thousand Keys includes poems inspired by the story of Elizabeth Dunham who was charged with the theft of the keys of the Bank of England.
- Kelly Creighton’s Unbecoming is based on the case of Polly Bodine, the ‘Staten Island Witch’.
Venues where Femina Culpa has performed:
- Clifton House, Belfast
- Sir Hans Sloane Centre, Killyleagh
- Poetry Lounge at the Waterford Gallery of Art, Waterford
- Linen Hall Library, Belfast
- Public Records Office Northern Ireland, Belfast
- Rath Literary Festival, Rathfriland
- Not-So-Secret Book Festival, Carrickfergus
- National Poetry Library at the Southbank Centre, London
- Bank of England Museum, London
- Keats House, London
- Bethlem Museum of the Mind, Kent
- Open House Festival, Bangor
- Seamus Heaney HomePlace, Bellaghy
Email: feminaculpa@gmail.com
Femina Culpa 