I just had a baby girl 8 weeks ago and also just sent the 13th issue to the printers. Whew! I am all
awash in motherhood and writing. And my daughter's birth has me contemplating something Debra
Rienstra says in her book Great with Child about how "rarely
birth stories have entered our cultural discourse." What with all the
fantastic suspense, drama, and beauty of birth, I find this somewhat
remarkable. (And yet, it does make sense that new mothers have rarely found the means or time to put their stories in writing.) Thus began my search for well-told birth stories, i.e., mothers writing. These are are few of my findings so far...
Funny stories absolutely slay me (This is to be said dramatically, with an emphasis on every single syllable.) For years now I have loved reading just about anything comically entertaining. In high school, my family discovered the Junie B. Jones children's books. These books WILL make your face red, your abs hurt and, in my opinion, they are most beneficial for adults who need to understand children again. In college, I fell for David Sedaris whose writing is offensive, politically incorrect, and full of social blunders. His hilarious stories have made me laugh loudly in unbefitting places, and I have even insisted upon having my poor family sit around during holidays to read his stories aloud. For times when I need someone to nudge truth in my general direction, I love Anne Lamott. Her exaggerated life stories about her faith undo me sometimes and I must mention that her writing style is one of my favorites. Any woman who fondly nicknames her cellulite covered legs, "my aunties," has my invitation to come to dinner at my house. I have also greatly enjoyed finding the humor in the writings of some more surprising people—Flannery O'Connor, Herman Melville, and even Edgar Allen Poe.
I have wanted to share this little book with friends for a
long time, and now, with Tony Woodlief’s story in our upcoming Issue 12, I have
a good excuse. My husband and I read Tony’s book, or pamphlet, Raising Wild Boys into Men: A Modern Dad’s
Survival Guide, driving from Colorado to Tennessee with our
five-year-old boy and three-year-old little girl. We laughed so hard our
bellies hurt, and we both cried several times throughout the book. Our two
kiddos sat clueless in their car seats devising ways to make guns out of
Wendy’s straws and ammunition out of the plethora of leftover fast food found
throughout the car.
My favorite books are those that have a bit of magic or the supernatural in them, from childhood favorites like "The Secret Garden," Susan Cooper's "The Dark is Rising" series, and Cecily Mary Barker's "Flower Fairies" to adult versions like Salman Rushdie's "Midnight Children" and even the pop-culture "Twilight." What I love most are those books that intertwine the real and the supernatural in a natural, almost subtle way.
As you probably know by now, April is National Poetry Month, and as it draws to a close, I thought it might be nice to reflect on some of the fun happenings and share a few poems.Much like with Earth Day, I wish we could have every month set aside to appreciate poetry in its many manifestations.I find poetry to be such a quiet and powerful mode of reflection, solace, and joy.
Two weeks ago I came home after a full day of literary stimulation at the Northern Colorado Writers Conference. I had met some great writers, heard Denver's poet laureate Chris Ransick speak on the creative drive, and also had the chance to lead a session titled "The Ins and Outs of Literary Magazines."
