As part of The Pixel Project’s Read For Pixels campaign, we interview authors and poets from genres as diverse as Science Fiction and Fantasy to Romance to Horror about why they support the movement to end violence against women and girls.
For Domestic Violence Awareness Month 2025, we present an interview with Read For Pixels poet Carol Gyzander who contributed her original poem Mirror Mirror to our 1st charity poetry collection, UNDER HER EYE. Carol is a Bram Stoker Award® winning horror author/anthologist of twisted tales that touch your heart. Her stabby feminist anthology, Discontinue If Death Ensues, is a World Fantasy Award finalist; her “Bobblehead” poem is a Rhysling Award finalist. And as HWA-NY Chapter Co-Chair, she co-hosts their Galactic Terrors reading series.
Inspired to support The Pixel Project’s anti-violence against women work? Make a donation to us today OR buy our 1st poetry collection, UNDER HER EYE, that is published in partnership with Black Spot Books. All donations and net proceeds from book sales go towards supporting our campaigns, programmes, and initiatives.
1. Why is ending violence against women important to you and why did you decide to support The Pixel Project by contributing your poem Mirror Mirror to UNDER HER EYE which is The Pixel Project’s first charity poetry collection published in partnership with Black Spot Books?
All my life, I’ve focused on the women around me, how we are treated, and where we fit in. When I began high school, women couldn’t have a credit card in their own name, serve on a jury, or attend Ivy League universities. The Roe v. Wade judgment came out just before I graduated. I attended Bryn Mawr College, an excellent all-women institution, because I wanted to be an equal part of my academic community and not be overlooked due to the unequal attention males received in the classroom.
I shouldn’t have to consider myself lucky that I’ve never experienced violence. Our society should be equally supportive of all our members.
Violence against women is the dirty underbelly of the continual bias against women in this country and much of Western society. We need to bring it to light. UNDER HER EYE is a magnificent step toward doing this.
2. What do you think poets can do to help with the cultural change needed to stop violence against women and girls?
Poetry can be more accessible than other formats of communication because of the brevity of the piece. In the same way that horror often works well as a short story because it can convey a message with precision — as compared to having the reader endure the ongoing horror in a long-form work — poetry is typically short and more easily approached or digested.
I feel that a succinct message in a poem can reach readers who may not otherwise tackle a longer work on the subject. I like to intersperse poetry with short stories in the anthologies that I edit.
3. Any final thoughts about why everyone should support stopping violence against women?
How can we call ourselves decent human beings if half our number are targets of abuse and violence?
Listen to Carol read Mirror Mirror here: