The Poetry of Maternity

Before a thought, a creation, a piece of writing canbegin, there needs to be the conception of an idea,the seed of a beginning. Just as a woman can becomepregnant with a child, she can also become pregnantwith words, a story, and a way to tell that story.Speaking from the point of view of a mother poet/poetmother, the author explores the language with whichwomen poets write the experiences of maternity. Howdoes a woman write her story or experience once sheemerges from a journey so common and seeminglyconnective, yet intensely isolating and removed fromthe world outside her body? Is this language uniqueto women?This book is a discussion amongst poets, theorists,and the author leading one through the labyrinth oflanguage to the final revelation or discovery: thereexists a movement toward expanding our given languageexpressly to give voice to the previously tabooexperiences of the female body. This book intends notonly to explore this language, but to give voice tothe maternal - tocelebrate it, learn from it, andacknowledge its essential importance in our literarycanon, our collective history, and our overall humanexperience.