Jenn Givhan Apples Fall We ride into the orchard at the edge of town my children on hay bales beside me, bumping along. What does it mean to fall, my daughter has asked me for a poem she must write. In the rows of the orchard, we muse upon orchard versus grove, which we looked up while homeschooling, although we can’t recall the difference now, something to do with purpose, the wildness, not citrus as I’d thought. The fallen apples squish into muddy grass, mushing and reeking of cider, already fermenting. A lurch in my gut at the scent…
Author: Mom Egg Review
Ingrid Andersson Nova Stella I knew from the out-of-the-blue lull that can befall hard labor, bestowing sleep, that she was fully dilated: I pronounced her complete. The woman roused, turned dilated eyes to me and said—with blinding depth and more love than I have ever seen— No one ever told me that before, and reaching down through a burst and flash of milky caul, caught a daughter. Originally published in MER 20 As a practicing midwife, Ingrid Andersson feels privileged to work daily within a world of heroic Mother Figures. Her poetry has been…
Review by Olivia Kate Cerrone The title poem of Jennifer Martelli’s brilliant new chapbook, All Things Are Born to Change Their Shapes invokes Ovid’s The Metamorphoses, where supernatural transformations involve women ensnared in patriarchal violence. In the aforementioned piece, the speaker reimagines her silverware as Each fork was a woman once, punished or saved: all metal, straight up at the sight of the god who turned her: the oyster fork was proud, the beetroot nearly raped (kept her maidenhead) and the dinner forks lying one on top of the other, settled for mediocrity. Similar transformations pervade throughout other poems,…
Review by Jennifer Martelli In the Sophocles tragedy, the character of Antigone (daughter of blinded and exiled Oedipus) was the victim of state-sponsored violence. Entombed alive after defying King Creon’s order not to bury her brother, Eteocles, she became a symbol of resistance and betrayal and also, of a love that would not be extinguished. Jennifer Franklin’s latest collection, If Some God Shakes Your House, weaves this ancient story with sonnets and prose poems. The structure she builds is both organic and unbreakable. In “As Antigone—,” she writes It was deliberate.…
Review by DeMisty D. Bellinger In Amy Barone’s latest collection of poetry, Defying Extinction, she delves into the environment, the natural world, family, grief, and growth. She affords each topic considerable care. Divided into five sections, the volume shows how personal yet how mysterious the world can be. Barone balances ecocritical commentary and existentialism in invitingly gorgeous poems. The first section of the book is entitled “Sacred Places,” and most of the poems feature specific locales throughout the world—the Americas, Europe, and Africa—as well as celestial bodies. And as well as the animals and lands, Barone showcases the peoples…
Review by Lisa C. Taylor In this eighth collection by Alison Stone, the poet moves through the history of recent years, including the pandemic, protests, racial and economic inequities and their historical context. These are poems that do not avoid questions, even ones with no clear answer. The collection opens with a taut poem that covers pandemic denial, power disparity, and Jews turned away at Ellis Island. The poet asks, “What does it mean/to be American?” (13). This poem sets up a weaving of the past and present that runs throughout the collection. Death and politics intermingle. “…what rises/from…
Off site. On purpose. A Literary Reading SWWIM, MER, and NELLE, three premier literary journals representing women’s voices, co-host an off-site reading during the 2023 AWP Conference in Seattle. The evening will feature many of today’s celebrated women poets and writers. Admission is free. Please join us for an amazing reading and celebration. RSVP here. Off site. On purpose. A Literary Reading SWWIM – MER – NELLE Friday, March 10 Doors 6:30 PM; Readings 7:00 PM The Forum at Town Hall Seattle 1119 8th Avenue Seattle, WA 98101 Admission Free Wine, Beer, and Snacks available for purchase Featured Readers:…
Danielle Jones A Love Poem Without Subtext Because sometimes the best way to say a thing is to say it: a river is as wide as a river, a knife as sharp as a knife. My love for you is my love for you. Can’t be compared with anything else, not for anyone else—for you. The years without you were like wind racing along the river, a dry mouth thirsting, unable to kiss the water’s skin—or like skin, taking in the knife, blade never-ending, unbending, no hilt to stop it, no way for the wound to begin, much less…
Judgment “Are you a good witch or a bad witch?” — “Rating” Mothers “Are you a good witch or a bad witch,” Dorothy asks Glinda, who has no problem naming herself as good. When we apply the question to mothers, we’re in thornier territory. In reading submissions this year, we noticed a number of works focused on questions around just that determination, “good” or “bad” mothers. The concept of judgment raises questions. Who is judging? Society? Religion? Children, parents and other relatives can weigh in, but even complete strangers judge mothers. And when is the judgment taking…