From the Editor, March 2016
Welcome to the March issue of Literary Mama! Find some shelter from the rain, and enjoy this month’s selection of thoughtful and evocative writing.
In Columns, Ona Gritz rethinks her ideas about “Maternal Instinct” and Beth Malone reflects on experiencing the present purely with “The Presence of Eagles.”
Creative Nonfiction includes “The Care and Feeding of a Carnival Goldfish” by Ann Klotz, a piece that illuminates the merits of taking risks, even if we open ourselves up to loss; and “Measuring Tape is a Flexible Ruler” by Melissa Scholes Young evokes one mother’s frustration and anger, as she navigates sleep deprivation with a newborn as well as her spouse’s illness.
Fiction features “A Song Like Aguanile“ by Maureen Pilkington, a nuanced story about a mother coping with her baby in the neonatal intensive care unit.
In Literary Reflections, “Books Bind Us” by Christie Megill is a touching account of a mother and her son’s shared love of books and reading; and “Drink Me” by Lania Knight stretches our notion of “literary” into the realms of song lyrics, plays, and movie adaptations of novels. As well, Literary Reflections editor Libby Maxey’s compilation of staff picks related to “Real Women, Real Stories” includes recommendations for books about Jane Goodall, Edith B. Holden, and Phoebe Gloeckner.
March’s poems highlight boys and the hills all of us seem to be climbing, with: “You look like you’re five” by Catherine Rockwood; “Communion” by Megan Merchant; “Sisyphusian Condition” and “Gigantomachy” by Ava Love Hanna; and “Addition” by Jennifer O’Grady.
We have “A Conversation with Kate Hilton” by Profiles editor Christina Consolino, in which the two discuss “the hole in the middle” metaphor, the difficulty of writing honestly, and having the courage to reinvent oneself midway through life.
In Reviews, Katherine D. Stutzman explores Joy Castro’s new collection of short fiction, How Winter Began, covering a wide range of female experience; and Meisha Rosenberg revisits a painful moment in our collective memory, with Sue Klebold’s A Mother’s Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy.
And keep an eye on our Blog for up-to-date information on Calls for Submissions; guest posts for our After Page One and Op-Ed series; and a Writerly Roundup of articles related to craft and the writing life.
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.
Spring wishes,
Maria