From the Editor, November 2015
Welcome to the November issue of Literary Mama. This month, many of our writers are looking back, letting go, and moving on. We hope you find these pieces as inspirational as we do.
Ona Gritz shares her views on that strange taffy-like element called “Parenting Time,” a phase of life that, while containing plenty of days slowed by rain, fever, or entertaining children, nonetheless zips by as if on turbo charge. In “Giving Up Good,” Beth Malone eschews “having it all,” in favor of letting some things go and refusing to allow the load to drag her down.
Creative Nonfiction includes “Flight Risk” by Nancy Martin-Young, a wryly told piece about teaching a son to drive, and “One More Thing” by Angel Sands Gunn, which details a mother’s seemingly impossible feat of leaving her kids and husband home while she attends a writer’s workshop in Vermont.
From Fiction, there’s a thoughtful story about identity and adoption, and a little girl recognizing the “path to happiness,” with Z.Z. Boone’s “Finding Clothes.”
Literary Reflections features two excellent essays that bear witness to the fact that some things are out of our hands: “A Foundation for a Fortress” by Diana Renn and “Writing Fiction, Raising Teenagers” by Ellen Dooley. We also have an Essential Reading list to get you through “The Creative Crunch” or #NaNoWriMo.
Autumn and departures are on the minds of our November poets with: “What the Instructions Said” and “Cucumbers, Red Onions, Vinegar—” by Mercedes O’Leary; “Before Leaving” by Kelly DuMar; and “The Humming” by Laura Foley.
Profiles offers a “A Conversation with Deborah Jiang Stein” by Melissa Uchiyama, in which the two discuss the role of memoir in literature, excavation of memory, and Jiang-Stein’s vision and hope for incarcerated women and their children.
In “Musical Intimacies: A Review of Like a Song,” Roya Biggie explores Michelle Herman’s compelling collection of essays, including a piece about Herman’s daughter Grace, an aspiring pop star who, for the first time, is “taking joy in herself.” All the essays here bring home the author’s point that, “We experience music inside our bones.”
And be sure to visit our Blog for up-to-date information on Calls for Submissions; guest posts for our After Page One, Free Write, and Photo writing prompts; a Writerly Roundup of articles related to craft and the writing life; and Announcements.
We are always grateful for your comments, and hope you can share all this good writing with your friends via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads.
Peace,
Maria