Freud has always wondered what it is that women want. The question Elena Petrovska is proposing in her poetry collection is what is it that women want during their periods and how does that differ from when they are not on their periods?
Her poetry book is titled “On My Period,” because she had written every single poem while on her period over the course of about the same time it takes to pop out a baby.
Elena says: “For this project, I’ve decided to flip the switch and allow myself a pleasureful experience- writing poetry- only while on my period, in attempt to change my relationship with my body. I wanted to create meaningful art out of pain, as I’ve always attempted to do with the struggles in my life. Further, I recognize myself as being more emotional during that time of the month and wanted to embrace it instead of perpetuating the stigma of periods as it is still the case in many traditions around the world.”

Elena Petrovska was born in Macedonia and moved to the US when she was four years old. She is currently attending The New School for Social Research’s Psychology graduate program in New York. When she is not studying or working, she is writing, reading, showing up to her workout classes, and spending time with her loved and dear ones.