Literary Mama

Jennifer Niesslein and Stephanie Wilkinson are the brains behind Brain,Child: The Magazine for Thinking Mothers, one of the best print magazines around when it comes to reporting on and exploring the life of mothers. Stacey Greenberg interviews the duo for Literary Mama: SG: How has the material you received changed over the years, if at […]

In our newest columns, Sybil Lockhart (Mama in the Middle) writes about her daughters’ intense connection to one another: [Encouraging their closeness] seemed like a brilliant tactic at the time, but watching Zoë and Cleo now, I wonder what weird dynamic I have created between my children. Zoë depends on Cleo being hers. They seem […]

New in our “Your Commentary” section, editor Dawn Friedman poses the question: What pushes your judgmental button? In her interview with Literary Mama, author Marrit Ingman speaks about the lure of casting a critical eye on other mothers. She says, “It’s hard to reason qualitatively when you are tired and you have an infant, and […]

Brooke Shields got it right in her New York Times Op-Ed piece when she wrote: “comments like those made by Tom Cruise are a disservice to mothers everywhere.” Brava to Brooke for taking the high road and using Tom Cruise’s “performance” on Matt Lauer as a platform to raise consciousness about postpartum depression and to […]

Literary Mama’s own Rebecca Kaminsky interviews Marrit Ingman about her forthcoming memoir, Inconsolable, due out from Seal Press in October. In talking about the book, which explores Ingman’s experience with post-partum depression, they hit upon what’s turned out to be a fruitful topic among mothers: judgement. RK: In the book you talk about the judgment […]

Asha Dornfest reports on the most recent Mother Talk event in Portland: About 35 women filled the house, and the conversation was lively from the get go. This is Portland –- a small town in the guise of a city –- so many of the guests were connected. . . About 45 minutes later everyone […]

My Literary Mama interview with Miriam Peskowitz is up and running. Miriam, who writes a blog called Playground Revolution, is not only smart and interesting, but she’s also a Philly mama, so I’ve been lucky enough to meet her in person for coffee, commiseration, and general hanging out. We’ll be doing a Philadelphia Mother Talk […]

This Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 8, I’ll be taking part in the New York City MAMAPALOOZA, doing a reading at the Bowery Poetry Club along with Ayun Halliday and Catherine Newman. (Info: 3 to 6 p.m., 308 Bowery, NYC 212-614-0505, $5 door). Mamapalooza was founded four years ago by Joy Rose of the band Housewives […]

We’re running an interview with author Jennifer Lauck in which she talks about writing and motherhood and writing about motherhood: Before I wrote Show Me the Way, an agent asked, “Are you going to be a serious writer or are you going to disappear into the abyss of motherhood?” I said I was going to […]

Just got word that Stephany went into labor on Tuesday morning: Luke David was born yesterday, a month before his official due date, at 9:02 a.m., and weighed in at 4 pounds 13 ounces. Congratulations to the proud parents! And Stephany — welcome to mother land!

This Belgian commercial uses a zippy video game format to warn teen girls about the drudgery of mothering a newborn. It reminds me of the new baby feature in The Sims. I must have had at least three simulated babies taken away by a simulated child welfare worker before I understood just how much attention […]