So often in our society, writing by a group of people is lumped together and dismissed. This has certainly been the case with motherhood literature. In 1976, Adrienne Rich began Of Woman Bornwith this: “We know more about the air we breathe, the seas we travel, than about the nature and meaning of motherhood.” Almost four decades later, we have made progress, yet motherhood literature is still largely ignored, and motherhood memoir, christened “momoir,” is routinely dismissed. But like all great writing, literature about motherhood, is, as Patricia Hampl says about memoir, “an attempt to find not only a self but a world.” Motherhood literature is not about motherhood; it uses motherhood as a lens through which to see the world.
Author Kate Hopper launched the Motherhood & Words Reading in 2007 as a way to highlight motherhood literature. This year, she is thrilled to partner with ModernWell and offer a day-long writing conference for women and mothers interested in deepening their understanding of craft and exploring creative nonfiction in a supportive community of writers.
Featured presenters are Anika Fajardo, Shannon Gibney, April Gibson, Janine Kovac, Kate St. Vincent Vogl, Erin O. White, and Wise Ink co-founders, Dara Beevas and Amy Quale.
Anika Fajardo, April Gibson and Janine Kovac will be the featured readers for the 13th Annual Motherhood Reading. Join us for this amazing day!