Peg 2018 by Jennifer Walshe published on 2018-05-17T21:47:37Z On 25th May Ireland will vote on amending its restrictive abortion laws. I was asked by Room for Rebellion and C.A.N.V.A.S. to create a piece for a compilation in aid of pro-choice charities to be released prior to the referendum. For logistical reasons this compilation won’t be released until later in the year, so I’ve decided to share the piece now, a week away from the referendum. If you’re an Irish citizen or resident, please donate to Together for Yes: https://www.togetherforyes.ie/donate/ If you’re not an Irish citizen or resident, please donate to Abortion Support Network or Alliance for Choice: https://www.asn.org.uk http://www.alliance4choice.com/donate-2/ ABOUT THE PIECE: “I am an old woman now, with one foot in the grave and the other on its edge.” Like most people of my generation, I studied the work of Peig Sayers (1873-1958) at school and the opening lines of her 1936 autobiography "Peig" are burned into my consciousness. "Peg 2018" takes those opening lines as a starting point, but departs immediately from the original, imagining the reflections of an entirely different, fictional Peg, an Irishwoman born in the 1950s. NOTE: The piece in no way represents the views of Peig Sayers or her descendants. CONTENT ADVISORY: Material may be distressing for some listeners. Image: Gustave Courbet's Jo, the Beautiful Irish Girl Comment by Natasha Chloe Downey Amazing 2022-05-23T17:49:15Z Comment by Rose Bolton powerful piece. Brava 2021-08-04T01:25:46Z Comment by Tansey You have iterated my mother's lament for a life she ended by her own hand. B 2020-10-20T11:33:38Z