Blog Book Tour: Literary Mama

When I started reading Literary Mama: Reading for the Maternally Inclined last month, I dutifully took notes on which pieces I wanted to highlight when the blog tour stopped here. But then, I found myself writing down every single one.

• "Dear Friend," a mom talking about life with her disabled son.

• "Evolution of a Muse." This one I thought was written just for me. It's about a writer who becomes a mom and, at first, this puts the kabash on her writing. Then, as so many of us have experienced, her child becomes her muse, and she remembers to "go and write it down."

• "Analyzing Ben," a mom marvels at the differences between her son and her daughter.

• "The Gift," in which a mom becomes frightened and awed by her daughters artistic gifts, but ultimately is inspired to nurture who own inner child and her own gifts.

• "Forecasts," a beautifully drawn memoir of growing up with alcoholic parents.

Usually I'm not a big poetry buff, but these poems, oh, these poems:

• "Beautiful Daughter": "Some of her flies away at the least touch like wild horses; some of her stays."

• "Matermorphosis," a poem about a woman's journey from seduction to motherhood.

• "Son of a Bitch," on how a mom pushed her son out of herself, then out of her life.

• "The Impatient Mother," a poem I want to mount on my desk and read daily, so I can call it to mind whenever I feel hurried or PMS-y with my kids.

• "Namaste," a mom's quiet bedtime wishes for her child.

• "The Blue Snake Lies Curled in My Bowl Like Oatmeal." I love this:
"But these five years are spent, idle, and gone
with but a handful of poems to show.
No publications from Antaeus to Xanadu,
but you, my poemchild,
whose smile is all my sonnets."

See? I told you! I could go on and on. I will try not to gush. Yes, I love this book. I love it so much that it has earned an esteemed spot on the "Do Not Give Away" section of my bookshelves.

But I will have to spring for another copy. Why, you ask? Because the book earned not just my love but my enthusiasm. Yes, I have become a Literary Mama evangelist. In other words, I'm giving my copy away to a lucky commenter.

Leave a comment between now and Friday at midnight, EST, and I will put all of the names into a hat and draw a winner on Sunday. Don't forget to leave your email address so I can get your address.

You, too, will probably feel the need to share its earthy goodness with the moms in your life.