“Mother to child and child to mother, this is the story that follows me, the ghost that haunts me. My daughter, my mother, her mother, her mother’s mother. It is as if they have left footprints in the snow. Try as I might to deviate, my feet fall gently but firmly into their well-worn grooves. My daughter before me, my daughter after me. The times when I carry my daughter and the times when she carries me.”
~Pippa Grace~
Dear Writing Woman,
Happy Mothering Day to our members and friends who have been mothers, had mothers, or mothered others. Mothering Day has been celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent in the British Isles since the 16th century. Ancient Rome celebrated Cebele—the mother goddess. We hope you celebrate the moments when you feel like a goddess. The goddess of the garden, the kitchen, the tennis court, the boardroom.
To enrich your experience, we’ve included poetry and prose about mothers.
We begin with a favorite poem—The Lanyard by Billy Collins.
Here are some books we think you will love—
The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe (Vintage 2013)— An adult son starts a book club with his mother at the end of her life. “A profoundly moving memoir of caregiving, mourning, and love, the book is also about the joy of reading, and the ways that joy is multiplied when we share it with others.” There are 112 books featured in this memoir about reading with someone you love at the end of her life.
Now We Have Everything: On Motherhood Before I was Ready by Megan O’Connell (Little, Brown & Co. 2018). “A raw, funny, and fiercely honest account of becoming a mother before feeling like a grown up.”
The Revisioners: A Novel by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
(Counterpoint 2020). “This New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the Year is a powerful tale of racial tensions across generations” (People) that explores the depths of women’s relationships—powerful women and marginalized women, healers and survivors.”
JOIN US FOR OUR MONTHLY MEETING MAY 11 BEGINNING 6:30 PM
The meeting information was sent in our May Newsletter. If you need the meeting link, please email us at Thank you!
Submit writing for peer commentary at our Zoom meeting—As usual, we need volunteers to share prose and/or poetry (4 pages double-spaced for prose and up to 3 poems). Please forward your manuscript to by Monday at 9 PM. We will screen-share your work so you can read it aloud while the group members follow.
We will comment on each piece’s strengths and opportunities with five questions in mind—
- How would you describe the writer’s voice?
- Does the writing flow smoothly?
- Is there an arc to the story or poem?
- What is the main point of the story or poem?
- What can the writer do to finish the piece?
Submit for our blog— Submit short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for our blog (less than 1,300 words of prose). Send us something about your writing life, or life in general. Please pitch a blog idea or paste your writing in an e-mail to Help us provide content and encouragement to writers.
Some current submission opportunities—
- The HerStry literary blog is looking for epistolary essays due June 1. Write a letter to “Dear Past Me.” Submission guidelines here. HerSTry pays $20 for accepted themed essays.
- Mom Egg Review requests poetry or prose on the theme of “Mother Figures” for our annual print issue. MomEgg will publish up to four poems, as well as flash and short fiction, creative prose/nonfiction, and hybrid works (up to 1000 words). You need not be a mother to submit. Submission guidelines here
- Check out The Manifest Station: On Being Human literary blog. Submit poetry, essay, fiction, art, and photography. Submissions are open continuously.
- Check out “The Best Writing Contests of 2021,” published by the Reedsy blog. Reedsy is a company that educates, guides, connects, and promotes indie authors. Read about the contests here.
- Medium.com publishes writing resources. Here is a list of paying markets.
HERE ARE WAYS YOU CAN SUPPORT WOMEN WHO WRITE.
Become a member (or re-member)—As a community, WWW strives to nurture your writing life. We hope you choose to join or renew as a member and participate in our monthly meetings, author talks, retreats, and workshops. Please share your ideas for future programming! You can attend two meetings as a non-member, before joining for $50. Students 18 and older enrolled in school can become members for $25.
Like our Facebook Page—@womenwhowriteky. Like our Facebook page (and linger awhile to take advantage of the posted content).
Join the leadership team—We need a social network coordinator for Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, etc. If you have questions specific to these positions, please email us from this website.
We look forward to seeing you on Zoom on May 11 beginning 6:30 PM. With questions about the meeting, email .
Be safe. Be strong. Be peace.
Love your writing life!
The leadership team— Kimberly, Pam, Melony & Alisa
