The Long Devotion

The Long Devotion is a collection of poems, essays, and writing prompts that celebrates motherhood and creates a space, as poet Molly Spencer has written, to “tell an unlovely truth about family life and not have to take it back.”

The poets in this book represent and describe a wide range of experiences.

I loved reading this book—a compelling and timely anthology of poetry and nonfiction devoted to the theme of motherhood. . . .Editors Pérez and Reddy have taken care to organize four sections that offer real insight into the facets of mothering, and they are inclusive in their selections.

This worthy book succeeds in its central aspirations: to realize the rich, creative synergies between writing and mothering; to offer sustainable strategies for navigating the demanding and undetermined intersections—bodily, psychologically, ethically, politically, etc.—of writing and mothering; and to promote the knowing of motherhood as valuable both to those who read and write through its lenses, as well as those who don’t (yet) share this diverse vantage on humanity.

This anthology fulfills a need in the poetry anthology market because not only does it address “typical motherhood” and its challenges, but also single parenting, foster motherhood and adoption, and even more importantly, perspectives across class, race, and sexual preference.

A necessary text for every mother laboring to make space for her writing in this world.

For many mothers, writing isn’t optional; it’s essential. As Khadijah Queen writes in “Mothering Solo,” “Being a mother often makes the act of writing even more urgent, more sanity-saving, more necessary.” The Long Devotion is an encouragement to mother writers everywhere that their experiences matter.

Emily Pérez (Editor)
EMILY PÉREZ is an English and gender studies instructor and grade-level dean at Colorado Academy. Sheis the author of What Flies Want , winner of the Iowa Prize; House of Sugar, House of Stone; and the chapbooks Backyard Migration Route and Made and Unmade . She lives in Denver, Colorado.

Nancy Reddy (Editor)
NANCY REDDY is associate professor of writing and first-year studies at Stockton University. She is the author of Pocket Universe ; Double Jinx , a 2014 winner of the National Poetry Series; and the chapbook Acadiana. She lives in Collingswood, New Jersey.