@Literary Mama
Read the most recent pieces at Literary Mama…
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COLUMNS
On Fences and Lady Parts by Marjorie Osterhout from Dear Marjo
Dear Marjo, I have two kids, and I feel lucky that I can stay home to raise them. My neighbor, “Marnie,” is a working mom, and she probably feels just as lucky.
Fallow: Remembering that Before Birth Comes the Cave by Cassie Premo Steele from Birthign the Mother Writer
I remember when my daughter was younger and I was seeing a wonderful therapist named Lucy who asked me, “When is your day off?”
“Well, I don’t teach or write on the weekends,” I told her.
“I mean, when is your time off from mothering?”
Who Needs a Man? by Marjorie Osterhout from Dear Marjo
Dear Marjo, I am so embarrassed to be writing this and my husband would feel terrible if he knew. But ever since my baby boy was born, I cringe every time my husband touches me.
CREATIVE NONFICTION
Lucky Guy by Jackie Mercurio
I stand behind my son, Savino, who rings the stage-door bell. He shifts his weight from one Nike to the other, and in his hand he holds a large, bright yellow envelope. It is a letter for Tom Hanks. Enclosed in Savino’s letter is another letter, one Hanks wrote my son 15 years ago.
Waiting on Rhoda by Tamuira Reid
She will say hello to your son, who will stare at her blankly.
“He doesn’t talk,” you tell her.
“Is he autistic?”
“He’s one.”
Rhoda will smile. “Don’t worry, he’ll come around I’m sure.”
Hold My Hand by Wendy Fontaine
For one brief moment her hand slipped into mine, and I felt the comforting velvet of her skin, the tiny ridge of knuckle bumps, the moon-shaped edge of her thumbnail. Then, remembering her independence, she wiggled from my grasp and skipped along the sidewalk, putting distance between her body and my own.
FICTION
Shopping Cart by Melda Beaty
Janine and Andre played daily teasing games about imaginary family members as Janine drove Andre home from work. Because of the age difference and Janine’s busted radio, there wasn’t much else to talk about. Andre kept the volume low on her iPod and participated out of courtesy.
LITERARY REFLECTIONS
Essential Reading: Memory by Libby Maxey
So much writing is a way of remembering—a way of preserving memories, making sense of them, making them into something new.
PROFILES
A Conversation with Jennifer Basye Sander by Marianne Lonsdale
Jennifer Basye Sander runs two weekend writing retreats for women: Write by the Lake in Lake Tahoe, and Write at the Farm in Washington’s Skagit Valley. She also teaches in the MFA program at North West Institute of Literary Arts and is the author of many books including The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Getting Published.
REVIEWS
A Review of The Good Mother Myth by Rhena Tantisunthorn
While these mother-writers are examining the mythology of the perfect mother, what was on my mind during the shortening days of late October was the way in which the horror genre feeds another extreme image of motherhood: that of the evil, crazed mother who, at the very least, creates monsters and, at her very worst, is a monster herself.