Review by Anne Britting Oleson In many ways, this collection of prose poems is a horror story, spanning the life of a character living Thoreau’s life of quiet desperation. The pieces are dated (1887-1948), bracketing the existence of a fictional Iowa woman, from birth to death; that life is circumscribed by geography and circumstance, both of which create a sense of claustrophobia impossible to shake off. Emily leads a narrow existence, not of her choosing. Reading this life from beginning to end, we are mired in Emily’s desperation. She is a thinking, feeling, exploring woman, but at every turn,…
Author: Mom Egg Review
Review by Marcela Fuentes That Woman from Mississippi, sequel to the award-winning memoir The Last Resort, takes readers through one woman’s decade-long journey of self-discovery and personal growth. It’s 1966 and Norma Watkins, Mississippi native and married mother of four, leaves her family to follow her lover to Miami. The memoir takes us through the dissolution of her first marriage, her life in Miami as a struggling graduate student and teacher, and the ten years of marriage to her second husband. The mark of good writing is ultimately, the reader’s response to the work. Norma Watkins, professor emerita at…
For Writers and Publishers Requesting Reviews of Books Thank you for your interest in having us review a new book. Mom Egg Review considers for review full-length books and chapbooks published in the previous year, of poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction, that are written by mothers, have motherhood as a subject matter, or are related to women’s experiences or issues. Very occasionally, we include reviews of books and chapbooks that are more than twelve months old. We publish full book reviews and also a “new and notable books-in-brief” list, MER Bookshelf. If you feel your book meets our criteria, please fill…
Review by Carol Dorf The central theme of Cheryl Wilder’s book of poems What Binds Us is family and connection in the face of disconnection. There are poems of estrangement and divorce, and also those of connection. Some of the most interesting poems contain more than one state simultaneously, such as “Foundation,” “Pupa,” and “A Way of Life.” In both “Pupa” and “A Way of Life, ” Wilder’s concern is the heritage she is giving to her son. “Pupa” begins, I point at the spot where my son’s heart beats and say, ‘there I’m always right there.’ He’s five…
Review by Mindy Kronenberg New Found Land is an inspired collection of moments and life events revealed by a contemporary voice that echoes and gives homage to mythic tradition. Each poetic narrative casts an observant and philosophical glance on its subject, whether a view of the landscape from above the clouds, the invasive paths in a wilderness, or the discovered exotica of domestic existence. Carolyn Clark is an adept tour guide, keeping the reader aloft and in motion with tectonic shifts in topography and emotional territory. The world we’ve inherited and move through is…
CONNECTING, EDUCATING, ADVOCATING, & LEADING SINCE 1917 WNBA Writing Contest 2018 The Women’s National Book Association Writing Contest is now open! Submit Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction/Memoir and Young Adult. Publication for top 4 winners in each category and Cash Prize for first place winners. $250 cash prizes for the winner in each category and publication in The Bookwoman. For contest requirements, fees, and submission information, please go to:www.wnba-books.org/awards To submit: https://wnba.submittable.com/submit Joan Gelfand and Carol Smallwood
MER VOX Quarterly – Winter 2017 Poetry #MeToo a folio curated by Jennifer Martelli and Cindy Veach “Everyday, we are witnessing women speaking out, giving their trauma words. Ten years ago, Tarana Burke urged us to “tell your story, if you’re compelled to tell it.” The #MeToo movement was born out of her need to create a place of empathy for women who have been victims of sexual violence…” Featured Poets Jennifer Franklin Jessica Goodfellow Idrissa Simmonds Lesléa Newman Rebecca Hart Olander Zeina Hashem Beck Eileen Cleary Poetry and Prose A Mother’s Love: Essays and Poems Exploring Grief and…
Breena Clarke Fifteen for Najeeb Walid Harb (1974 – 1989) He stands behind a screened door, mesh inside a wooden frame, the old kind from the earliest part of my childhood. This iconic door is meant to let breezes through and keep flies out. These doors were always slamming or not slamming depending on how obedient a child was, and gouges in them created breaches where all the flies and other insect pests that harried the hot and humid Washington, D.C. summers in my childhood entered the kitchen to light on the food, the table, the floor. In…
Amber Flame I was unprepared for my mother’s sudden death to bear gifts. Learning about grief and loss is a lonesome journey, filled with heartbreaking revelations and insights that I am always unprepared for. “They never talk about ____________” or “no one ever told me __________” are repeated refrains, as if enough conversation or guidance or understanding could lessen the weight. But truly, I’ve never heard of anyone discussing the gifts of grief. How heavy they weigh in my hands. How bitter their sweetness. My mother died traumatically, when she was both too young to expect it and doing…
Lynne Connor Language of Grief I come from unreliable narrators. I come from my birthmother’s womb. I was next to her heart for nine months. And then I wasn’t. Who she was—Unkown. I was born in Korea—South or North—most likely South. But the exact place—Unknown. My abandonment story—a policeman found me on the firehouse steps and brought me to the closest orphanage. My adoptive mother, a strong independent white woman who chose not to marry—she liked to say I came from a 747 that carried me to the Philly airport in December of 1979. So with this birth story…