Faith in Literature and Art l Ruminate Magazine

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...

The search continues. And stay tuned for the editor's note in Issue 13, where you will find my own tales of birth, writing, and art.  And please post a comment below with any of your own findings on this subject--I would love to hear them!

P.S. I was recently given the chance to write a blog post for Utne Magazine Online--they asked me to share five of my favorite links on the web. You can check it out here. 

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Cathryn flowers Ritchie   |2009-07-23 12:54:04 Brianna, I have an article someplace, written years ago (my children range from 20 - 26)about the difficult pain of my first born's birth and yet God speaking to me in this pain. The day after birth while sitting in a bath singing some of my favorite hymns (I'd brought my hymnal along for comfort; little did I know how much I would need it) when it became clear to me that I should give the hymn I was singing to my daughter. So began a tradition that was passed on to my other children and many other families. Caitlin's hymn is, Great is thy Faithfulnessk, for that was what I felt, that God had delivered me from the pain...He Was Faithful. My second born received, Like a River Glorious reflecting on her peaceful birth. My first boy was a quick and active birth which has been the style of his life (now a Lte. with the 101st Airborne); his hymn is, To God be the Glory, Great things He has done. My youngest baby received my college hymn, All For Jesus. He seldom heard this at church so aroundd 7 or 8 said he wanted Amazing Grace as his birth-song. Okay. What amazed and surprised me when the children were growing up, those hymns were their first requests always when I sang to them after a reading. One night one would say, "I want my birth-song and then John's", Or "Can I have all four birth-songs?" So, though you are into this for 8 weeks, it is not to late to decide on a birth-song for her. Blessings, Cathryn (MOMCAT) p.s. Years later, when my oldest was in her teens, our church would sing Great is thy Faithfulness and we both would grab a wink from each other. She has not been faithful to our Lord, so I pray for that and when I hear her song, my heart cries with pleas of His faithfulness. Reply

Brianna   |2009-11-01 08:55:48 Just found out about a new literary magazine: The Mom Egg http://www.themomegg.com Looks interesting! Reply

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