Whether we understand it or recognise it, it is women who have shaped the course and journey of humanity. We are all born from women and usually raised by women. Half the world's population is female but many of them are trodden down by misogyny, religious misinterpretation, failing systems of education and welfare and all manner of other ills that shame us all. In a world where, gender, colour, race and orientation are still stumbling blocks to inclusion, women's words are too often unheard and neglected.

Whilst the world has moved measurably forward in recent decades, although not enough, some progress has been made. Our poets wrote at a time when their basic rights as human beings were restrictive and oppressive. Against the odds, they were able to write verse, which in varying degrees, moved the literary needle and perhaps influenced their society in positive ways.

This volume pays tribute to 50 different women poets, some well-known whilst others undeservedly forgotten but all contributing a single poem which we hope might nudge listeners to discover more of their verse.