November News! The Journal of Mother Studies has launched. Internships are active. The MoM Conference 2023 Call for Papers is posted now. Please submit art, papers, and activism on the subject of M/otherhood, gender, and self-expression by November 30th.
Category Archives: Books
Meet the Newest Artist Resident at MoM: Gloria Munoz
Gloria Muñoz, July/August Summer Residency at the MOM Art Annex focuses on developing her novel set in 1940s Colombia during the period known as La Violencia. With elements of fabulism, historical fiction, and eco-poetics, the story of two sisters who are displaced by violence and left to fend for themselves is a testament to how we can experience wonder, and even magic, after loss. Gloria Muñoz is a Colombian-American writer, literary translator, and advocate for multilingual literacy and writing.
MAMA Issue 50: Mothers and trees. Roots and families. Art and love.
Mother of the Forest is one of the tallest trees in Santa Cruz Park. A symbolic womb at her core forms an 8 x 13 foot room, or a hobbit hole, or a sacred space — depending on your perspective. Trees are a testimony to patience and resilience. They offer shelter, contribute to healthy ecosystems, and fight climate change. Redwoods protect and support each other as well as other sapling growth by creating family circles sprouted from the roots of a parent tree. These families may or may not be genetically related. These lessons in cooperation can be a metaphor for humanity in its current fragmented state.
Bitch In The House – Has Anything Changed?
Perhaps social support does improve women’s feelings about motherhood. However, recent articles, during the time of COVID, for example, would indicate that the fundamental challenges for women who are mothers remain fundamentally unchanged. A recent New York Times article, This Is a Primal Scream, depicts the frustration of America’s maternal mental health crisis, as does this article by Kimberly Seals Allers in the Washington Post titled Female Rage is All The Rage (2018). Cathi Hanauer and friends have an updated version of this book called The Bitch Is Back: Getting Older, Wiser, and Happier. The original Bitch in the House is part of MOM’s library.