Motherhood is a varied yet permanent stage of life. No mother’s experience is identical to another, but somewhere along the way motherhood touches all humans. 

This episode highlights the diversity of experiences motherhood offers with editors of The Long Devotion: Poets Writing Motherhood. This anthology is a collection of poems, essays, and writing prompts that represent and describe a wide range of experiences. Edited by Emily Pérez and Nancy Reddy, The Long Devotion celebrates the multifaceted types and lifestyles of motherhood ranging from intersections of parenting and race; single parenting; adoptive, foster, and step-parenting; life with chronic illness, mental illness, and disability; and the choice to remain childless.

Emily and Nancy share a poem from the book called “Feed” which speaks to the various forms of transitions women experience through motherhood. Our conversation touches on topics such a Matrescence, navigating work and motherhood, as well as learning how to adjust to motherhood and finding a creative spark again. 

Show Notes: 

In this episode of the Thryving Mother Podcast, we discuss, 

• What led Emily and Nancy to create this anthology.
• What their findings were on “what it means to be a mother who writes?”
• Areas of the book focusing on transitions and balancing being a mom and creative professional including Nancy reading a poem from the book called “Feed”. 
•  Their suggestions for mothers who would like to begin to write their experiences in motherhood.

About the Writers: 

Emily Pérez is the author of What Flies Want, winner of the Iowa Prize; House of Sugar, House of Stone; and two chapbooks. She is co-editor of the anthology The Long Devotion: Poets Writing Motherhood. A CantoMundo fellow and Ledbury Critic, she’s received support from Hedgebrook, Bread Loaf, The Community of Writers, Jack Straw Writers, and The Artist Trust. Her poetry has appeared in Poetry Northwest, Prairie Schooner, Copper Nickel, Poetry, and Fairy Tale Review, and her reviews can be found in RHINO, LA Review of Books, The Guardian, and The Georgia Review. She teaches high school in Denver, where she lives with her family. Find more at www.emilyperez.org.

Nancy Reddy is the author of Pocket Universe (LSU, 2022); Double Jinx (Milkweed Editions, 2015), a 2014 winner of the National Poetry Series; and Acadiana (Black Lawrence Press, 2018). With Emily Pérez, she’s co-editor of The Long Devotion: Poets Writing Motherhood (UGA, 2022). Her essays have appeared in Slate, Poets & Writers, Electric Literature, Romper, Brevity, The Millions, and elsewhere. The recipient of a Walter E. Dakin Fellowship from the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and grants from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the Sustainable Arts Foundation, she teaches writing at Stockton University.

Learn more about Emily and Nancy at: 

@theemperez | @nancy.o.reddy

& www.emilyperez.org 

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