Mother Reader: Essential Literature on Motherhood

From Library Journal
Davey, a photographer whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Harper's, Grand Street, and Documents, bore her first child at the age of 38. When her infant developed colic, she found that she needed a break from the isolation of being a primary caregiver. Books were her lifeline. Her aim in this anthology was "to bring together examples of the best writing on motherhood of the last 60 years, writing that tells firsthand of the mother's experience." Arranged by year of publication, this anthology includes excerpts from journals, memoirs, essays, stories, and interviews. The contributors include an impressive list: Doris Lessing, Sylvia Plath, Margaret Mead, Susan Griffin, Adrienne Rich, Alice Walker, Ursula K. Le Guin, Mona Simpson, Toni Morrison, Grace Paley, and Mary Gaitskill. These authors question the impact of motherhood on women's lives and careers, whether or not mothers have been given a voice in the canon, and the direct experience of motherhood. Several women write about their unequivocal desire not to be a mother. An impressive addition to any women's studies or literature collection. Pam Kingsbury, Florence, AL Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Ben Dickinson, Elle, July 2001
"... a master class in the out-of-body, all too frequently out-of-your-mind experience that falls under the prosaic...heading of parenting."


Book Description
In memoirs, testimonials, diaries, essays, and fiction, 36 women contributors describe the changes brought to their lives by pregnancy, childbirth, and mothering. Because most of the contributors are writers - including Annie Ernaux, Adrienne Rich, and Alice Walker - the intersection of motherhood and creative life is an ongoing theme. Many of the writers articulate maternal anger and ambivalence, such as Jane Lazarre in "The Mother Knot." In other essays, such as Mary Gaitskill's "A Woman's Prerogative" and Joy Williams' "The Case Against Babies" the very fact of reproduction in an overpopulated world is questioned and probed. Selections also include Margaret Atwood's elusive story "Giving Birth"; excerpts from Sylvia Plath's passionate diaries and Tillie Olsen's ground-breaking Silences; and Mary Kelly's precise and intimate recordings of her son's early years from her epic artwork Post-Partum Document. The book also features literary criticism.


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In memoirs, testimonials, diaries, essays, and fiction, 30 women writers describe the changes wrought upon their lives by pregnancy, childbirth, and mothering. Because many of the contributors are writers � including Annie Ernaux, Adrienne Rich, and Sara Ruddick � the intersection of motherhood and the creative life is an ongoing theme. Many of the writers articulate maternal anger and ambivalence, such as Jane Lazarre in �The Mother Knot,� and others question why, if it is so hard, women continue to have babies, such as the childless-by-choice Mary Gaitskill in �A Woman�s Prerogative.� Selections also include Margaret Atwood�s elusive story �Giving Birth�; excerpts from Sylvia Plath�s passionate diaries and Tillie Olsen�s ground-breaking Silences; and Mary Kelly�s precise and intimate recordings of her son�s early years from her epic artwork Post-Partum Document. The book also features literary criticism.


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