Review by Kimberly Lee
(M)othering—an anthology of writing and art edited by Annie Sorbie and Heidi Grogan (Inanna 2022) has a saturated indigo cover filled with vibrant shapes and patterns in contrasting colors that delight the eye. As the images indicate, this compilation of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, punctuated by a selection of visual work, shape-shifts among numerous perspectives and incarnations in its thoughtful exploration of motherhood.
The second thing one’s eye is drawn to, quite possibly after a double take, is the title. As the parenthetical “M” suggests, this compilation goes beyond any strictly confined notions of “mother” to include experiences of maternal energy, from both the giving and receiving end, whether from a distance or swirled undefinably in its embrace. The editors speak of the diverse contributors in the book’s preface, saying, “They stand in the belly of her/their/his/story,” an acknowledgement of the impact and significance of the mother archetype as it exists in us all, regardless of background or experience. The result is an assemblage of voices that encompasses more than what we often encounter in literature centered around motherhood.
The opening entry is a colorful piece by Sabine Lecorre-Moore and Patricia Lortie, with simple line drawings of human figures and hearts intertwined with stark tree branches. This work of art serves a fitting reminder of the cycle of life, the intricacy of our relationships to one another, and our dependence on the earth, the mother of all. Yet it’s also a clue of sorts, alluding to the depth of expression contained within the pages to follow.
Beginnings—of pregnancies, of womanhood, of parenting—are a recurring theme throughout the collection. Joan Shillington’s “First Want 1963” describes a preteen who sips apple juice while eavesdropping on the conversation of grown folks, about birth control and breastfeeding, her first glimpse of the dilemmas on her horizon. In “Latch,” Jessica Gigot draws parallels between a lamb, its legs knobby and unsteady as it seeks its mother’s milk, to the nourishment she will provide her unborn child on arrival. “Song of the Seven Eves” by Joan Crate is a wistful elegy to prehistoric women, contemplating who they were and what we have become.
In relating their stories and sharing their art, the contributors allow themselves to be vulnerable, and that honesty and authenticity hold the reader close. In “Marsupiak,” E.D. Morin explores the symbolism that exists in a story about parenting that was rejected numerous times, drawing conclusions about what it reveals about herself. “Breathe,” by Sandy Bezanson records the stream of consciousness the writer undergoes as she gives birth to a stillborn child. Yvonne Trainer’s “Contract Expired” describes, from a teacher’s perspective, the devastation left by a school shooting, her nightmares filled with images of the children she mothered in class. “Even in sleep she stands in a room full of empty desks/her handwriting fills the board in sentences/that make no sense.”
Other themes include connection and the indelible imprint of motherhood, whether by adoption (as Kim Mannix describes in “Bloodline at the Water Cooler”: “Anyone of us could be family”); the thread that runs through generations, as in Kelly Kaur’s “Birthright”: “I envision my mother’s birth/I remember my birth/I finally give birth”; or in “Community,” Sabine Lecorre-Moore’s work of art and its elegant overlapping, multi-colored rings.
The demands and requirements of motherhood are similarly probed, as contributors address the quotidian and the interplay of conditions placed on mothers by society, as well as those we place on ourselves in response to conditioning, an internalization of certain mores. In “Reason,” Katherine Smart writes of “accusatory little boxes” on a form where she must detail why her children are late to school. Amy Dryer’s exquisite art “The Night Time Rituals” captures the cacophony of duties and emotions that arrive with the dark of night. And Mary Warren Foulk’s “Night Waking” has the poet wondering, “Will it ever be dawn/and will enough ever/be enough?”
In the rich compendium that is (M)othering, no stone is left unturned, no experience left hidden. As the editors conclude, the contributors’ “…truths, words, and images attest to how mothering shatters and shapes us oh-so-dreadfully and oh-so-wondrously.” The experience is more than a role, it’s an inner journey that molds us, hopefully leading us—through trials, tribulation, and triumphs—to wholeness. “[W]ould you do it again?” Joan Crate asks in “Balloon.” “I’m just wondering, because I would.”
(M)othering
Annie Sorbie and Heidi Grogan, editors
Inanna Poetry and Fiction (2022)
Print: 978-1-77133-912-4. 244 Pages
Kimberly Lee left the practice of law some years ago to focus on motherhood, community work, and creative pursuits. A former editor at Literary Mama, she is a workshop facilitator certified by Amherst Writers & Artists, The Center for Journal Therapy, and SoulCollage®. Kimberly’s work has appeared in Fresh Ink, Words and Whispers, Toyon, Minerva Rising, LA Parent, I Am Woman: Expressions of Black Womanhood in America, and elsewhere. She lives in Southern California with her husband and three children. Connect with Kimberly at https://www.kimberlylee.me and Instagram @klcreatrix