Children

HOT NEW RELEASE!

How do we reconcile the outdated notions of being a selfless matriarch with a modern-day understanding that being a mom is about learning to give back to yourself in order to give to others?

How do we learn to accept what it is we wish to hold from our matriarchs and yet also release to become empowered mothers with our own wants, needs, and values?

In Hoods of Motherhood: A Collection of Poems, Lindsay Soberano Wilson, a first-generation Jewish Canadian granddaughter of Romanian Holocaust survivors and Spanish Moroccan immigrants, compiles a bittersweet portrayal of becoming a mother. From the highs and lows of recurrent miscarriages to contending with c-section shame, to larger issues such as intergenerational trauma, and everyday issues like breastfeeding, Soberano Wilson’s first full book of poetry, is relatable, lyrical, and confessional with evocative imagery, allusions, wordplay, rhyme, and rhythm.

What Others Say

The at once soft and brash reality of motherhood is paired with the beauty and nostalgia
of mothering in Hoods of Motherhood by Lindsay Soberano Wilson. The poet’s truthful treatise on both the resilience and challenges and joy and humor of motherhood will be familiar to anyone who has been a mother or had a mother. Soberano Wilson masterfully captures the dance we mothers create as we find balance between being mothers and self-flourishing. While the poems are rooted in the experience of motherhood, fierce and tender, they catalyze the ancestral healing of past, present, and future generations.
Hoods of Motherhood earns a permanent place on my bookshelf.

Aimee Brown Gramblin, Writer and Poet

***

This lyrical collection buzzes with energy, beautiful imagery and memorable ruminations on everything from parenthood to art to our natural world. Soberano-Wilson is definitely a
poet to watch.

David Silverberg, founder and former artistic director of Toronto Poetry Slam,
author of As Close to the Edge Without Going Over (ChiZine Books)

***

Lindsay Soberano Wilson’s “Hoods of Motherhood” is a collection of deeply personal and introspective poems that offer a lyrical and evocative exploration of the themes related to the experience of motherhood, including personal history and self-care. In her poetry, Wilson contemplates the challenges of raising a child while reflecting on the impact of her family’s history and trauma, including the Holocaust and the experiences of its survivors. Through her writing, Wilson engages in a healing ritual, using poetry to cleanse herself of these experiences and find solace and understanding. Her evocative language and poignant imagery invite readers to immerse themselves in the emotional landscape of motherhood, where the mundane details of daily life blend with the weight of historical memory, creating a rich and textured tapestry of human experience.

Michal Mahgerefteh, Managing Editor, Poetica Publishing

***

This is a powerful collection about the challenges of motherhood. Readers will be drawn
equally to the relatability of the themes and the impressive wordplay. Fuelled by a passion, each poem deftly explores the polarizing nature of parenthood with a jaunty writing style that is as explosive as poignant. Whether the stereotype challenging “Down With Cool Girl” or the lyrical “Our Sanctuary”, this collection is consistently engaging and enlightening.

Scott Carter author of Blind Luck and Barrett Fuller’s Secret

About The Author

Soberano-Wilson graduated from Concordia University’s Creative Writing program and went on to earn a Master of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Toronto. She is a member of the Canadian League of Poets. Her poetry has been published in Fine Lines Literary Journal, FreshVoices, The Embrace of Dawn, PoetryPause, Quills Erotic Canadian Poetry Magazine, Canadian Woman Studies
Journal, Poetica Magazine, and various anthologies, and online literary magazines and blogs.

Her debut chapbook, Casa de mi Corazón: A Travel Journal of Poetry and Memoir (Poetica Publishing), is a hybrid journal of poetry and memoir about how her sense of community, identity, and home was shaped by her past travels.

She has demonstrated that her brazen, yet gentle voice, speaks to an audience as reflected by her growing following across social media platforms, such as Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Medium.

Where to Find

Hoods of Motherhood: A Collection of Poems is available on several platforms and can be accessed via the following:

and Other Online Retailers

EVENTS

Virtual Book Launch

Live Book Launch

Hoods of Motherhood will be featured at a live book launch where you can meet the author. This will be held at Flying Books・784 College St.・Toronto, ON More June 22, 6:30-8 p.m. EST

Poets & Events, writing

Author Talk with Tiffany Kouadio

May 2, 2022 Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld

Poetry Meets Music featuring Bill Cushing and Chuck Corbisiero – Prolific Pulse Press Podcast

Nearly 50 years ago, Chuck Corbisiero and Bill Cushing grew up across the street from each other. Now the two have gotten together to present a show consisting of Bill’s poetry and Chuck’s musical musings. The two reconnected at the end of 2015 when Bill presented a reading commemorating his publication in an anthology called Stories of Music. Now their mutual love of music has brought them together to offer a unique look at the world through the marriage of music and writing that the two have called “Notes and Letters.” Bill, an MFA graduate from Goddard College in Vermont, has lived in the Los Angeles area for 20 years and teaches English at area community colleges, has been publishing professionally since 1987 and began poetry as a serious avocation two years later. Chuck, a guitarist who plays Jazz, Blues, Brazilian and various other musical genres, earned his B.F.A. in Musical Performance and Arranging at the City University of New York – The City College during Gil Evans' tenure as Artist in Residence from 1982 to 1983, also plays stand-up bass and worked as Eddy Arnold's guitarist until 1992. He moved to the area in 1991when he began his family. Now their mutual love of music has brought them together to offer a unique look at the world through the marriage of music and writing called “Notes and Letters.” Last March, the two performed during the open mic segment of the Second Sunday Poetry Series held at the Studio Theatre in Los Angeles. Based on that, they have secured their first stand-alone show, which will be held at the Bolton Hall Museum on the afternoon of Sunday, July 24 and is being sponsored by the Village Poets of Sunland; Tujunga. Back together again—for the first time, and available “We’d actually like to put on some events before that date,” Bill said, noting that although they are working on several promotional ideas and projects, there is no hard-and-fast schedule they have to meet. “We are playing it by ear—much like we do our own presentation. We aren’t locked into any solidly rigid structure, and even the performances are ‘informal’ to a great degree, which is by design.” The two have culled together poems that touch on topics as varied as nature, the city, religion, Peru, and Puerto Rico as well as music itself. Two items on their to-do list already completed are the publication of a short chapbook of the material to be used and the opening of a Facebook page dedicated to posting information as well as prior performances. Both items are similarly named “Notes and Letters.” The book is available online through either Amazon or Lulu Publishing. — Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lisa-tomey/message

Announcements, call for submissions

The Talk – Not the TV Show – the Real Talk About Living Cautiously

March 4, 2022March 4, 2022 Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld

I was reading this article on NPR It’s about the talk that black mothers have with their sons. It came to me while I was working on an announcement – or a fresh announcement about The Talk – which is the name for the anthology of poetry and essays by mothers of color & possibly fathers, too.

As a white woman, I have had talks with my now adult child, but nothing compared to what people of color have to have, MUST have with their children. None of us wants to have our children’s names or adult children’s names associated with a hashtag. What do you think the chances are for this to happen with a person of color vs a white person?

Even with The Talk, there’s still a chance that something could happen, but we are not, as parents, going to let our children into society without caution. The Talk and many other measures has to happen.

What is the talk as a white parent? What is the talk as a parent of color? Just think about that and let it sit for a few moments.

Photo by August de Richelieu on Pexels.com

This picture depicts the happiness I want to see for people of color. And I want to hear about The Talk that is had. It keeps those of us who don’t have this experience, mindful. And it keeps us heart-full. How I wish that in this world, we did not have the adversity, the hatred, the assumptions… And I don’t want to hear about how that’s just the way it is. That is not good enough, nor acceptable to me and I hope it is not acceptable to others, but I know. I don’t have blinders on, but I also don’t have dark skin which causes people to scowl, distrust, look the other way, accuse me, to make my name a hashtag.

Are you a person of color? Would you feel comfortable sharing the talk you have had to have with your children? There’s a Call for Submissions for your story, your essays, your poetry… Would you consider sharing Your Talk with others?

Here is the link if your answer is “yes” or if you want more information:

The Talk Call for Submissions.

poetry, Poets & Events

Poet Talk with Bracha Goetz

February 2, 2021 Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld

Check out the latest Podcast on the Prolific Pulse Poetry Podcast

Short Fiction

There’s Something to Be Said for Attitude

January 30, 2020 Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld

person getting his blood check — Photo by Pranidchakan Boonrom on Pexels.com

It was time for vaccinations to prevent severe illness or even death. Excited when he heard it was vaccination time, Chris put his favorite technological toys in his carry all bag and loaded up the car.

“It’s vaccination day,” Chris excitedly announced. His mother gave him a surprised look, before getting in the van and driving him to the clinic. Chris had a shocked expression as he sat, watching the nurse prepare the long, thin needle, soon to enter his arm. Smiling, he exclaimed, “Oh I get it, we have to get shots so we don’t get sick on vacation.”

…..

There you have it! That’s the Six Sentence Story! Want to try your hand at it? Got to this LINK and jump in!

Rules of the hop:
Write 6 Sentences. No more. No less.
Use the current week’s prompt word.
Link the URL to your post via the blue “Click here to enter” button below .
Spread the word and put in a good one to your fellow writers 🙂

PROMPT WORD: VACATION