Postpartum Production

Redefining the Creative Process: Poet Meg Leonard on Parenting and Productivity

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 05:00:00 -0700

After a bit of a pause, we return with a conversation that reflects the heart of this podcast: what it means to create, care, and hold many parts of a life at once. Today, Kaitlin is joined by poet and longtime listener Meg Leonard, whose new book Larkspur Queen (Broadstone Books, 2025) explores identity, care, and the shifting creative self. Together, they dive into the nonlinear reality of making art while mothering, working, and navigating chronic illness, and what it means to value process over product in every season of life.

Meg shares how her friendship with Kaitlin began through this very podcast, reflects on the search for authentic creative community, and reads two poems from her new collection. They also discuss the months of “unproductive” writing that ultimately became essential to Meg’s poetic process.

Meg’s Work:

Larkspur Queen (Broadstone Books, 2025)
book of lullabies (Milk & Cake Press, 2020)

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An Evening of Conversation & Reading on Love, Labor, and Fury with Minna Dubin

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 05:00:00 -0700

In this special bonus episode of Postpartum Production, we’re sharing a live conversation recorded at LANEY & LU in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Hosted by Meg Leonard, author of Book of Lullabies, and this incredible essay Being a Writer Shouldn’t Require me to Exist Without My Children, and Jennifer Desrosiers, Founder of LANEY & LU and Altitude Companies, the event features our own Kaitlin Solimine in conversation with Minna Dubin, author of Mom Rage: The Everyday Crisis of Modern Motherhood and guest of the podcast in Season 2.

Minna reads an excerpt from her acclaimed book and discusses the cultural and emotional landscape of maternal anger. Kaitlin shares a sneak peek of her forthcoming, unpublished work—reading a powerful passage and reflecting on the complexities of creative life in the wake of motherhood.

Their conversation explores the intersections of motherhood, labor, creativity, rage, and productivity culture, offering a rare glimpse into the emotional and creative truths of modern parenthood.

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

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To Every Season: Highlights from Conversations on Birth and Creativity

Wed, 21 May 2025 05:00:00 -0700

In this special episode, Kaitlin reflects on the season that was—through illness, overwhelm, fundraising, mothering, and moments of joy—and shares what it means to mark time in "seasons."

Season 3 of Postpartum Production explored the intersections of identity, care, and the ways birth informs artistic expression. In this compilation episode, we revisit some of the most thought-provoking, vulnerable, and resonant conversations from the season. These clips offer a window into the deep well of insight shared by our guests—artists, writers, healers, and parents navigating the complexities of postpartum life, creative practice, and care work.

We’d like to offer a heartfelt thank you to the Postpartum Production community—for listening, for sharing, for showing up. This season has been built on the generosity of our guests and the engagement of our listeners. Like any creative work born in the margins of caregiving, it’s been a labor of love, and your support has made it all worthwhile. As we look ahead, the future of the podcast remains open, but we carry with us the insights, relationships, and momentum that this season has sparked.

Thank you for being with us this season and we look forward to connecting with you in Season 4.

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

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Debunking the Good Mother Myth: Author Nancy Reddy on Old Science and New Models for Modern Caregiving

Wed, 30 Apr 2025 05:00:00 -0700

Today, Kaitlin is joined by poet, author, and longtime friend Nancy Reddy - a connection that has spanned the lifetime of Kaitlin’s youngest child. Funny how parenthood reshapes our sense of time and friendship.

Nancy first appeared on the podcast back in Season 1, Episode 12, when she and her co-editor Emily Perez discussed their anthology The Long Devotion: Poets Writing Motherhood. Since then, Nancy’s work has only expanded. She’s a writing professor at Stockton University in New Jersey, the author of three books of poetry, and, most recently, the author of her first narrative nonfiction book, The Good Mother Myth: Unlearning Our Bad Ideas About How to Be a Good Mom, published by St. Martin’s Press in January of this year.

Nancy’s writing also spans a wide range of essays on motherhood, identity, and culture. She has written for Slate, Romper, and Electric Literature, tackling topics like the damaging mythology of the "golden hour" after birth, the challenges of making mom friends, the whiteness of the motherhood memoir, and the inherently political nature of mothering.

In this conversation — recorded in person during the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) Conference in Los Angeles — Kaitlin and Nancy dive deep into how modern American myths about motherhood have shaped Nancy’s personal and creative life. They also explore Nancy’s transition from poetry to research-driven nonfiction and the evolving intersection of writing, teaching, and living motherhood.

Tune in for a heartfelt, thought-provoking conversation about storytelling, identity, and the truths we inherit and reshape.

More of Nancy’s work:

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The Postpartum Production Birth Story: A Conversation with Our Producer Erin Greenhouse

Wed, 19 Mar 2025 06:00:00 -0700

Today, we share with you a very special episode of Postpartum Production that involve a bit of role-reversal: our producer, Erin Greenhouse, steps out from behind the scenes and in front of the microphone to interview our very own Kaitlin Solimine. What started as an idea Erin had for her website, evolved into something special we knew we wanted to share with you all: the birth story of the podcast.

In alignment with this past season’s focus on birth stories, Erin and Kaitlin explore the origins of Postpartum Production, delving into Kaitlin’s creative work and the larger questions that drive her podcast, writing, and activism. Their discussion expands the definition of "birth" beyond the literal, considering all the ways people bring things into the world—whether books, ideas, communities, or new versions of themselves. We also get a peek into Kaitlin’s creative process, and discuss how it has evolved over the years as her family has grown and her relationship with time has changed.

This conversation reflects on the deep commitment both Erin and Kaitlin share in fostering a society that values the work of caregivers and creatives, recognizing it as essential and worthy. As they reflect on the journey of Postpartum Production, they also look ahead to what’s next—continuing to challenge narratives, build community, and celebrate the many forms of creation that shape our lives.

Mentioned in the podcast:

The Society for the Study of Pregnancy & Birth (SSPRB) Virtual Symposium April 4-6

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Birth Stories with Sara Nolan: Kaitlin’s Second Birth

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 05:00:00 -0700

In the final installment of our three-part Birth Story series, Kaitlin revisits the birth of her middle child, who, fittingly, arrives with a story that defies expectations. Released on his sixth birthday (🎉!), this episode is a reflection on the nuances- and myths- of second births, the power of trusting the birth process, and the beauty of not knowing as much as you think you do..

Kaitlin continues her storytelling with Sara Nolan, a doula, writer, editor, and founder of Tell Your Birth Story, a business in which Sara helps those who have given birth reflect, re-experience, and re-tell their stories in full, organic detail, after which Sara returns a fully transcribed narrative record. We are so grateful to Sara and this important, transformative work, and hope you’ll consider sharing your birth story with her someday, too.

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

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Reclaiming Birth, Motherhood, and the Left: A Conversation with Sarah Menkedick

Wed, 05 Feb 2025 05:00:00 -0700

We've wanted to talk to writer Sarah Menkedick for a long time, but we weren’t sure how we could make our conversation fit into this season's focus on childbirth- until she wrote the essay Why the Left Must Reclaim Birth on her Substack, Terms of Endearment, in late 2024. In her essay, which Kaitlin and Sarah explore in their conversation we share with you today, Sarah posits that, in order to make progress in our patriarchal society, the feminist left must embrace motherhood and the experiences of women who cherish identities and lives that have typically been co-opted by the right. Motherhood could be an opportunity for us to connect, to commune, and to find commonality even when we think we are so far apart. In a time that can often feel divided, exclusive, and judgmental, Sarah brings an energy and curiosity to how, potentially, we can find a path forward together.

More about Sarah: Sarah’s a writer whose work explores motherhood, feminism, and the human experience. She is the author of Homing Instincts: Early Motherhood on a Midwestern Farm and Ordinary Insanity: Fear and the Silent Crisis of Motherhood in America. She has lived between the U.S. and Mexico for over 15 years, giving her a unique lens on American culture, and her writing has appeared in Harper’s, The New York Times, The Guardian, and more. She’s also a Fulbright Fellow and a three-time Best American Essays nominee. She currently splits her time between Pittsburgh and Oaxaca, Mexico.

In this conversation, Sarah and Kaitlin discuss:

The political and philosophical implications of her essay, Why the Left Must Reclaim Birth
The paradox of feminist identity and traditional femininity
How motherhood can serve as a bridge in today's divided political climate
The role of activism and policy in shaping a more inclusive future
Her experiences living between Pittsburgh and Oaxaca, and how they inform her work

Also referenced in the podcast:

Naomi Klein Doppleganger: A Trip into the Mirror World

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

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A Cold Rage: Debunking Motherhood and Childbirth with Lucy Jones’s Matrescence

Wed, 22 Jan 2025 07:00:00 -0700

We’re thrilled to welcome Lucy Jones, a celebrated writer and journalist, to the Postpartum Production podcast to discuss her latest book, Matrescence: On the Metamorphosis of Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Motherhood with us. Lucy’s work draws on deeply personal experience as well as a diverse range of disciplines - neuroscience and evolutionary biology, psychoanalysis and existential therapy, sociology, economics and ecology, to illuminate how the changes in the maternal mind, brain and body are far more profound, wild and enduring than we have been led to believe.

Lucy’s acclaimed career includes roles as Deputy Editor at NME.com and work with The Daily Telegraph. Her earlier books, Foxes Unearthed and Losing Eden: Why Our Minds Need the Wild, have received numerous accolades, including awards from the Society of Authors and long-listings for prestigious prizes. Her latest collaborative work, The Nature Seed: How to Raise Adventurous and Nurturing Kids, offers a radical vision of a new kinship with nature, one that helps us expand, nurture and deepen our wild life.

In this conversation, Kaitlin and Lucy explore:

The concept of "matrescence" and why it remains underacknowledged (even flagged as a spelling error in word processors).
How existential psychology offers a lens for understanding the upheaval and transformation of motherhood
The interplay between motherhood and time, from the fleeting nature of childhood to the visceral awareness of life’s impermanence
The critical need to normalize the emotional and psychological shifts that accompany childbirth and parenting.

Lucy’s most recent works include:

Also mentioned in the podcast:

Rozsika Parker, Torn in Two: Maternal Ambivalence

You can find more of Lucy’s work at:

Website: https://lucyfjones.com/

Instagram: @lucyfjones

Birth Stories with Sara Nolan: Kaitlin's Third Birth

Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:00:00 -0700

We continue our Birth Stories series with the birth of Kaitiln’s 3rd child. No, you did not miss an episode! As we have chosen to release these episodes on the birthdays of Kaitlin’s children, we will be sharing Kaitlin’s 2nd Birth Story in February. Today, we skip ahead to the 3rd, to honor the birthday of Kaitlin’s 2nd child, which also happens to fall on Christmas and Hanukkah this year.

In Sara’s words: “I believe parents do not have adequate chances to pause, review, and make meaning in and of our lives; to value our own efforts to grow, birth or raise our children. To feel and make room for all the emotions and complexity of being alive, being here, and forming our families. I hope that birth story work & the resulting story will be an initiation, a validation and a revelation. With my support, my clients (re)enter and reflect on life’s unpredictable, incredible experiences- sometimes it’s really messy; it’s always worth it.”

Again, thank you to Kaitlin- and her daughter- for sharing their beautiful story with us.

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

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Birth Stories with Sara Nolan: Kaitlin’s First Birth

Tue, 03 Dec 2024 05:00:00 -0700

Sara Nolan is a doula, writer, editor, and a mother/stepmother who lives in New York. Kaitlin and Sara connected through the Artist Residency in Motherhood Facebook group which we’ve mentioned here before.

Sara also runs a wonderful project and business of conducting birth story interviews, called Tell Your Birth Story. So, as the subject matter of this season came into focus, we realized- why not sit with Sara and record our own birth stories, and share them with you all? Kaitlin took the leap and recorded her three birth stories- one for each of her children- which we are so excited to share with you in a special 3-part series. Today we share with you the first story, the birth of Kaitlin’s first child, who in this episode we’ll call C for privacy's sake. We’re releasing this episode on the day of her birth nine years ago.

We won't give too many spoilers as they'll all be covered in this birth story, but we hope you'll check out Sara’s work and consider sitting with her for a birth story yourself. She sits with birthing people in all manners of birth stories, including those that may be laced in trauma or loss, as well as those like this one that we’re sharing today that felt more triumphant after many years of heartache and infertility.

And the kicker of all this is that when we recorded these birth stories, Sara herself was pregnant, which she will share more about in her own writing and which you can find at tellyourbirthstory.com.

Much love and gratitude to Kaitlin and C for sharing their beautiful story with us all.

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

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#artbirth: Actor and Singer Athena Reich Makes Birth a Stunning Performance

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 07:00:00 -0700

In this laughter-filled episode, Kaitlin speaks with Athena Reich—an actress, singer, songwriter, the “World’s Top Lady Gaga impersonator,” and queer, single-by-choice mother—about her remarkable artistic journey and personal fertility experience. Athena’s critically acclaimed comedy show Lady Gaga #ARTBIRTH explores the intersection of art and birth in a raw, hilarious, and unforgettable performance that earned her a Time Out Critics’ Pick in NYC, and which Kaitlin describes as “the most grotesquely beautiful and perfectly Lady Gaga-esque birth you could ever imagine.”

The conversation delves into Athena's path to parenthood- highlighted in the Emmy-nominated documentary Vegas Baby- her experiences as a writer for outlets like HuffPost, Chatelaine, and Today’s Parent, and her latest venture: pursuing medical school while continuing to perform.

Tune in for an inspiring discussion that celebrates birth, art, resilience, and the courage to reinvent oneself.

Referenced in the podcast:

Emma Johnson The Kickass Single Mom

You can find more of Athena’s work at:

Website: https://www.athenareich.com/
Instagram: @athenareich

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

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Invisible Labor: Rachel Somerstein on the Hidden Systems Shaping Childbirth in America

Wed, 13 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0700

In this episode, we sit down with Rachel Somerstein, associate professor of journalism at SUNY New Paltz and author of Invisible Labor: The Untold Story of the Caesarean Section. Rachel brings a unique, deeply informed view on how the personal experiences of childbirth intersect with larger systemic issues that shape birthing practices in this country. Her work has been featured in The Washington Post, Boston Globe, The Guardian, The Rumpus, and Wired, and she’s been featured on Fresh Air. She lives in New York’s Hudson Valley, where we recorded this conversation.

Rachel’s perspective on the creative potential of birth—even within constrained or challenging circumstances- is surprising and refreshing. In this conversation, we explore how the complex realities of labor and delivery, and the impact of medical imperialism, can transform personal responsibility into a broader framework for activism and community support. Rachel offers insight on moving beyond individual blame to understand how systemic factors shape our personal stories and shape the possibilities for change.

Tune in for a thought-provoking conversation about birth, the history and future of C-sections, and the power of understanding systemic influences on our most intimate experiences.

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

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Marginalia #3: From the Frontlines of a School Closure Protest: Unexpected Lessons and Activism in Public Education

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 10:30:00 -0700

Kaitlin shares her recent experience of a fast and deep dive into community activism to protect her children’s public elementary school, Sutro Elementary, from potential closure. Only weeks ago, Sutro was among 13 schools in the San Francisco Unified School District identified for possible closure due to budget constraints. Kaitlin helped lead a community-wide campaign to keep Sutro open, which culminated in a 600-person protest, a town hall with the district superintendent, and ultimately, a halt to the closure process.

This experience led Kaitlin to reflect on the essential role of Public schools as community pillars that provide stability and belonging, especially for low-income, immigrant populations like the students and families at Sutro Elementary—and broader, nationwide implications of school closures.

A few Resources Mentioned:

Wanting What’s Best by Sarah Jaffe: A book exploring public vs. private education in the United States
The Problem of Private Schools Current Affairs article by Sparky Abraham (2020):
What We Lose When a Neighborhood School Goes Away (WGBH News, 2015): Discusses the impact of school closures and cites work by sociologist Eve Ewing on school closures in Chicago.

We invite you to share your own experiences with local activism and to consider how public education affects their communities. Connect with us on Instagram @postpartumproductionpodcast, and visit our Website and Substack, linked below.

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

Centering Ritual and Visualization in Birth and Art: A Conversation with Anna Hennessey

Wed, 09 Oct 2024 05:00:00 -0700

When we decided to focus this season on the subject of birth and creativity, we knew we’d have to include Anna Hennessey, a writer and scholar based in San Francisco. Much of Anna's writing over the past decade, which includes a book called Imagery, Ritual, and Birth: Ontology between the Sacred and the Secular, is devoted to the topic of birth in the humanities. She also has a blog called Visualizing Birth, intended to provide people with images, videos and stories that they can use as practical tools to help them in envisioning the birth of their own children.

In addition to her writing, Anna is the current director of the Society for the Study of Pregnancy and Birth, an intellectual hub for scholars in the arts, humanities, and social sciences who research pregnancy and birth in their fields. Her academic background is in the history of religion, with a focus on Chinese art, philosophy, religion, and language. She's taught in the University of California and California State University systems, and has researched as a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley. She lives with her husband and children in San Francisco and travels frequently to Catalonia, her husband's homeland. Anna is also deeply connected to her own Irish heritage and Ireland, which is a topic that we discuss here as well.

Kaitlin’s conversation with Anna is deeply informative, rich with insightful references to scholars and to artists throughout history who are changing our conception of the intellectual as well as the practical possibilities of birth art.

Books referenced in the podcast:

Also mentioned in the podcast:

Call for Submissions: Society for the Study of Pregnancy Birth (SSPB) Virtual Symposium: "Natality: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Birth as Existential Experience"

The Birth Rites Collection UK

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

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Rupture and Reimagining in Poetry and Life: How Adrie Rose's Writing Roots Us in Experience, Loss, and our Lived Worlds

Wed, 25 Sep 2024 05:00:00 -0700

We’re excited to share with you this conversation with Adrie Rose, a poet and trained folk herbalist who lives beside an orchard in Western Massachusetts. Adrie is the editor of Nine Syllables Press at Smith College. Her chapbook Rupture came out in January of 2024, and her micro chapbook I Will Write a Love Poem came out in 2023.

In today’s conversation, Kaitlin and Adrie discuss Adrie’s writing and the connections between her personal experiences and her work on the page. Specifically, the way in which her wider personal history- one that has included everything from the creation of a bakery to investigations of folk herbalism- as well as a life threatening ectopic pregnancy, that all came together to inform her writing in unexpected and evocative ways.

We know you'll enjoy this conversation with Adrie. We personally learned a lot about what it means to live in the world, and also to bring those lived experiences to the page in the form of some really, really meaningful and personal poetry.

Find more of Adrie’s work here:

Also mentioned in the podcast:

Artist Residency in Motherhood (ARiM): https://www.artistresidencyinmotherhood.com/

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

The Art of Movement: Ori Lenkinski’s Exploration of Dance, Birth, and Universal Human Connection

Wed, 11 Sep 2024 05:00:00 -0700

Ori Lenkinski is a dancer, choreographer, and journalist based in Tel Aviv. Her work in all its forms is devoted to exploring the connection between words and movement. She's worked with independent choreographers and companies in the U. S., Europe, and Israel. Her body of work includes The Painting, Portrait No.2, The Suit, Help Desk, Birth Preparation Course, as well as the dance films Carriage and Expecting.

In today’s episode, Kaitlin and Ori discuss Ori's births and how she integrates the moving body—in all its beauty and potential— into not just her artwork, but also everyday moments with her children, family, and her wider community. This was a very vulnerable and touching conversation with someone whose work truly reaches across cultural, political, and religious lines to speak to universal human experiences.

More about Ori and her work:

Website: https://www.orilenkinski.com/
Instagram: @orilenkinski

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

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An Unexpected Birth Story: How Artist Alexandra Carter Met the Monstrous Feminine on Her Home Bath Mat

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 05:00:00 -0700

Today's episode is one we've been holding for you all with great anticipation. As listeners will hopefully remember from our first episode this season, we spoke with Alexandra Carter, an artist whose work delves into themes of femininity, transformation, and the embodiment of the monstrous as a source of power and creativity. At that time, we discussed her artwork and how she encounters this monstrous feminine. She was also about to give birth in that episode.

Alexandra was just weeks from her due range, as those in the birth world like to say; we had talked about getting together again and discussing the birth after the fact, and she was really excited about and willing to do it. So in this episode, get ready to encounter that monstrous feminine yourself.

Just weeks after the birth of her second child, Alexandra sat down with us to talk about this birth. We are so grateful, as we’re sure you will be too, that she sat with us literally in her body, which was healing from that birth and early postpartum. This is definitely one of those, “you need to hear it to believe it” stories, and it feels like the perfect companion to her episode and like the artist that she is. She somehow magically wove these themes of the anticipated birth and the actual birth here—you're really in for a treat.

More about Alexandra:

Website: https://www.alexandra-carter.com/
Instagram alexandracarterstudio

Mentioned in the podcast:

Annie Ernaux's "A Frozen Woman": A literary work offering a stark and poignant portrayal of childbirth and womanhood.

We invite listeners to share their thoughts and reflections on this episode. How do Alexandra's experiences resonate with your own understandings of birth and creativity? Connect with us on social media or leave a comment to share.

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

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An Intimate In-Person Conversation with Poet Eleanor Stanford on Midwifery, the Maternal Body, and Menopause in the Poetic Form

Wed, 14 Aug 2024 05:00:00 -0700

Eleanor Stanford is the author of four books of poetry, all from Carnegie Mellon University Press. Her most recent, Blue Yodel, is forthcoming this fall. Eleanor’s interest in birth- not just in a personal context but through a global lens, through the ways that people and other cultures experience it- brought her to Brazil, where she was a Fulbright fellow. Here, she researched and wrote about traditional midwifery in rural Bahia. She was also a Peace Corps volunteer in Cape Verde, an experience which also impacted her poetry and life trajectory.

In today’s conversation, recorded in-person together in Philadelphia, Kaitlin and Eleanor read poetry from Eleanor’s recent works and discuss:

Writing as a way to connect to other people and explore the world
Her experience as a Fulbright fellow in Brazil, in a community with an interesting convergence of both highly medicalized birth experiences with a strong tradition of midwifery
How Eleanor approached writing and sharing the stories of local Brazilian midwives, given her status as an “outsider” to the Brazilian culture and community.
The ways in which the lived bodily experience of motherhood and birth translates to her writing

Find more of Eleanor’s work here:

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

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Breaking Ballet Barriers: Ingrid Silva’s Journey from Rio to Harlem to Motherhood

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 05:00:00 -0700

“Companies oftentimes see dancers, especially women, "unable" to have a career, a professional career after they're becoming mothers. And that's also part of the patriarchy because this is not how it works. Having a child and coming back to work, it can potentialize your work in so many ways. It can bring a broader vision for yourself and for others around you. It can change everything.” - Ingrid Silva

Ingrid Silva was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she began classical ballet training at age eight in the Dançando Para Não Dançar, a program that provided training to young people who could not otherwise afford dance classes.

Throughout her childhood, Silva was inspired by Brazilian ballet dancers, Mercedes Baptista and Ana Botafogo. Outside of Baptista, however, she had very few black Brazilian ballet dancers to idolize. Silva's passion for increased Afro Brazilian visibility in ballet, combined with her mother's unwavering support, inspired Silva to be her own role model at a young age.

By the young age of 17, Silva was an apprentice at Grupo Corpo, one of the most prestigious dance companies in Brazil. And in 2017, she was accepted into the Dance Theater of Harlem Summer Intensive Program in New York on a full scholarship. The following year, she joined the company's community engagement project, Dancing Through Barriers. In 2013, Silva joined the company full time, where she remains today. She felt affirmed by the Dance Theater of Harlem's celebration of African American culture through performance, community engagement, and arts education programs. Silva has held principal and soloist roles for renowned choreographers, including Arthur Mitchell, Donald Bird, Francesca Harper, and many others.

Speaking with Silva at her home in New York, it was a delight to be able to hear her own perspective on this incredible personal journey and how it has intersected with pregnancy and motherhood. We know that you all will really appreciate this conversation today.

Follow Ingrid's journey at:

And discover her recent book A bailarina que pintava suas sapatilhas (currently available in Portuguese, and English soon!) here: http://www.ingridsilvaballet.com/booklivro

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

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Choose This Now: A Live Reading by Nicole Haroutunian on Motherhood, Artistic Practice, and Publishing

Wed, 17 Jul 2024 06:00:00 -0700

This episode of Postpartum Production was recorded live at Blackbird Books Bookstore and Cafe in San Francisco, on a warm Spring day in the shop's back garden. This beautiful event was co-hosted by Recess Collective, a local San Francisco organization that builds inclusive community-centered spaces for families, particularly in the early years of parenting. A heartfelt thank you to both organizations for their efforts in uniting our community on that day, and every day.

That day, Kaitlin joined author Nicole Haroutunian at Blackbird for a reading of her novel Choose This Now, published by Noemi Press this year, with conversation and questions from the audience about her process and inspiration for the book. In the audience were young children and parents wandering in and out; a mother nursing her child for most of the event sitting in the audience. We hope these kinds of readings and author events become more common ways that we can incorporate those whose schedules don't accommodate evening or late night events, but can fold into days when caregiving can, as we know, often feel like the only task.

In addition to readings from Choose This Now, Kaitlin and Nicole discuss:

How Nicole has chosen to navigate talking about experiences of early caregiving, friendship, and all the layers that she manages in the book, in a realistic way
The experience of having given birth; what shifted in Nicoles life in terms of how she now creates literary works
How Nicole relates to her work, and how that fed her characters experiences themselves as well

A special shout out to Artist Residency in Motherhood (ARiM), mentioned in this episode, and Cut + Paste, for bringing Kaitlin and Nicole- and so many other artist mothers- together.

More on Nicole: Nicole is also the author of Speed Dreaming, which was published by Little A in 2015. Her work has appeared in the Georgia Review, Story, the Bennington Review, Joyland, Post Road, and Tin House's Open Bar, as well as many others. She lives with her family in Woodside, Queens in New York City. You can find more of her work at:

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

Room Swept Home: Remica Bingham-Risher Holds Communal and Ancestral Narratives in a Universe of Poetry

Wed, 03 Jul 2024 06:00:00 -0700

"It's about history, it's about family lineage, and it's about what we bring into the world." - Remica Bingham-Risher

We continue our exploration of birth and creativity with Remica Bingham-Risher. Remica is the author of Conversion, which was winner of the Naomi Long Magit Poetry Award, What We Ask of Flesh, which was shortlisted for the Hurston Wright Award, and Starlight & Error, winner of the Diode Editions Book Award. Her first book of prose, Soul Culture: Black Poets, Books, and Questions that Grew Me Up was published by Beacon Press in 2022.

Her next book of poems, Room Swept Home, was published by Wesleyan in February 2024, which we spoke about in the podcast. This beautiful collection examines the murky waters of race, lineage, faith, mental health, women's rights, and the reckoning that inhabits the discrepancy between lived versus textbook history. She's currently the Director of Quality Enhancement Plan Initiatives at Old Dominion University, and she currently lives in Norfolk, Virginia with her husband and children.

In today’s conversation, Kaitlin and Remica discuss:

Room Swept Home and the research Remica conducted to build this work of archival research, as well as personal memoir and communal history that is infused in the book and her research
The ways in which she encountered birth in this collection of poetry
How the narratives of childbirth through her own personal history have become such a compelling and fruitful space for her own exploration as a person, as a mother and as an artist

Discover Remica’s work here:

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

From Set to Home: Actress Lauren Lapkus Finds Humor in the Balance of Caregiving and a Career on Screen

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 07:00:00 -0700

Lauren Lapkus is an American actress and comedian known for portraying Susan Fisher in the Netflix comedy drama series Orange is the New Black. She played Jess in the HBO comedy drama series Crashing, she's appeared in the television series Are You There, Chelsea?, Hot in Cleveland, Clipped, The Big Bang Theory, and Good Girls, the films Jurassic World, The Unicorn, The Wrong Missy, and she played the voice of Lada in the animated comedy series, Harvey Girls Forever! She also plays Joanna in the film Another Happy Day, a “postpartum depression comedy” directed by Nora Fiffer, a guest of the Postpartum Production Podcast back in Season 1. You can listen to that conversation here.

Lauren is also a prolific podcaster: she has appeared on the Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast, Improv4Humans, and her own podcast With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus, LAPTIME with Lauren Lapkus, Threedom, Raised by TV, and Newcomers.

In today’s laughter-filled conversation, Kaitlin and Lauren discuss:

The physical challenges of pregnancy and postpartum as an active comedian and actor
How experiencing motherhood firsthand influenced her acting, particularly her portrayal of Joanna in Another Happy Day
How film sets and the industry at large have (and have not) shifted to provide healthier working conditions and schedules, particularly for parents

Discover more of Lauren’s work here:

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

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Poetry and Parenthood: How Amy Bornman Mines Domestic Practice for Creative Power

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 06:30:00 -0700

We’re so excited to introduce listeners today to Amy Bornman: a poet, textile artist, and parent living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as well as the author of two books of poetry, There is a Future (Paraclete Press Poetry, 2020), Broken Waters (out now!), and co-author of How to Sew Clothes (Abrams Books, 2023). Amy has literally made creative pieces out of the experiences of the births of her two children, and she's even birthed the small press Imaginary Lake, which supports her creative production.

Amy's work focuses on themes of domesticity, caregiving, confession, and spirituality. In this conversation, we deeply appreciated Amy's perspective on art making and the domestic space, and how art making can be a radical act, especially when it sits outside the capitalist context.

In today’s conversation, Kaitlin and Amy discuss:

The importance of sharing diverse birth stories, including those that are not safe, supported, or desired, to provide a full range of human experience
Art making in the domestic space, finding success with small press and zine publishing, and writing without traditional publishing barriers
Amy’s two birth experiences, and how the the experience of birthing her first child helped her step into power as a mother with her second

More of Amy’s work:

Referenced in the Podcast:

Louise Erdrich’s The Blue Jay’s Dance
Adrienne Rich's Of Woman Born
Amelia Greenhall Anemone

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

Art and Advocacy: Ashley January’s Response to the Black Maternal Health Crisis

Wed, 22 May 2024 06:00:00 -0700

In this episode, we sit with contemporary artist Ashley January to discuss her powerful paintings inspired by maternal experiences. Ashley delves into themes of preeclampsia, premature birth, and birth trauma, shining a spotlight on the Black maternal mortality and morbidity crisis in America. Her art is not just a reflection of her personal journey but also an act of activism, aiming to bring awareness and change to the maternal health landscape.

In this episode, Kaitlin and Ashley discuss:

Art and Maternal Experience: Ashley shares how her journey through motherhood, including facing preeclampsia and premature birth, has profoundly influenced her artwork.
The Black Maternal Health Crisis: We explore the critical issues of Black maternal mortality and morbidity in America, and how Ashley's art addresses and brings visibility to these challenges.
Art in Clinical Spaces: The impact of Ashley’s work being featured in clinical settings like Tufts University's Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice and Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago.

More about Ashley:

Ashley's Website - Explore Ashley’s portfolio and learn more about her upcoming exhibitions.
Instagram: @ashleyjanart
Intrauterine Growth Restriction: The painting of Ashley's Kaitlin has in her home
Women's Caucus for Art - Learn about the organization that awarded Ashley the Emerging Artist Award.
Tufts University's Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice - Discover the initiatives and Ashley's contributions to this center
Expo Chicago - Find out more about the art expo where Ashley showcased her new series.
Cynthia Corbett Gallery - Check out the gallery representing Ashley’s work

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

The Explosive Female Body: Artist Alexandra Carter’s Muse in Birth and Beyond

Wed, 08 May 2024 07:00:00 -0700

“The bulk of my work comes out of this place of the explosive female body and really meditating on that and looking at that. The body has always been my deepest interest, and painting the figure, and that has been the case for many, many years. And so when I started to think about family building and my reproductive health and my fertility, just even the inkling of those thoughts, the work started to become infused with these images of motherhood of the reproductive female body. Because it represents so much: there's so much richness there for me in terms of how we talk about the female body, in terms of its messiness and its inability to be contained.” - Alexandra Carter

Welcome back to Postpartum Production! We are thrilled to begin Season 3 of the podcast, and to be in community with you once again. Season 3 further examines the intersection of Birth and Creativity, and what better person to start the season than Alexandra Carter, an artist focused on fertility, maternity, and the monstrous feminine, and who, when we held this conversation, was just weeks from giving birth to her second child.

Alexandra’s recent solo exhibitions include “Monstrous Mothers” at the Middle Room in Los Angeles, “Bumps and Grinds” at Rogers Gallery in Las Vegas, “A Sense of Heat in Her Brain” at Luna Aeneas Gallery in Los Angeles, “Berries for BowBow” at Radiant Space in Los Angeles and “Tether,” which was a duo show at Oolong Gallery in Solana Beach, California.

In our first episode, Alexandra and Kaitlin discuss:

Alexandra’s journey as an artist and how that has tandemed with her motherhood journey
How she is preparing for her second birth, both as a human and as an artist, and how it compares to that of her highly-medicalized first pregnancy
The meaning of the “explosive female body,” a subject much of Alexandra’s work focuses on

More about Alexandra:

Website: https://www.alexandra-carter.com/
Instagram @alexandracarterstudio

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

Marginalia #2: How Not To Scratch the Soil

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 06:00:00 -0700

Hello, dear listener, and welcome back to Postpartum Production! We are thrilled to begin Season 3 of the podcast, and to be in community with you once again.

Before we kick off Season 3, Kaitlin checks in to provide an update on the podcast, a peek into what we’ll be exploring together this season (more on that in a moment!), and some heartfelt reflections on the never-ending challenges of balancing creative work, caregiving, and commerce. How can we create art while paying the bills? How do we play the long game of sustainability, while also living in the present? How does one do it “all” and, as importantly, when?

These are questions caregivers, creatives, and those of us just trying to make it work in a capitalist society wrestle with daily. While answers may not be simple, we at Postpartum Production hope to provide you with the tools, inspiration, and support you need as we continue this ongoing pursuit of meaning, impact, and value together as a community.

So, what’s in store for Season 3? Get ready for fascinating, powerful conversations as we speak with artists across genres and mediums- painters, poets, comics, and creatives of all kinds- about the intersection of Birth and Creativity. We delve into the profound connection between the body, the birthing process and the artistic journey, exploring how the transformative experiences of birth inspire and shape creative expression. We can't wait to share these conversations with you.

Lastly, we would love to hear from you: the questions you’re struggling to answer, the tough topics you feel deserve discussion and debate, or just simply what you are experiencing in this moment. Reach out to us any time via our Website, Instagram, or Substack.

We appreciate your support and look forward to continuing our journey together this season.

Referenced in today’s episode:

An interview with Rick Rubin: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jan/10/the-creative-act-a-way-of-being-by-rick-rubin-review-thoughts-of-the-bearded-beat-master
New Yorker Article on mentorship and Early/Late blooming artists: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/10/20/late-bloomers-malcolm-gladwell

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com
Follow us on Instagram: @postpartumproductionpodcast
Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

S2E15 - A Moment in Time: Looking Back on Season Two’s Highlights, Lessons, and Reasons for Hope in Caregiving and Creativity

Wed, 13 Dec 2023 05:00:00 -0700

In this episode, we look back at a few of the themes that emerged from our conversations this season and take stock of what this means now; looking back and also looking forward to the work we all have to continue in our examination of this intersection of caregiving and creativity.

We’re incredibly grateful that our guests could take the time to sit with Kaitlin, and for their honesty and vulnerability, which really make this podcast the open and engaging space that it is, and hopefully is for you as listeners.

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

Drop us a line via email: hello@postpartumproduction.com

S2E14 - The Poetics of Parenting: Poet and Educator Ben Berman's Take on Writing While Parenting

Wed, 04 Oct 2023 05:00:00 -0700

We are capping off our season of conversations with Ben Berman, the author of three books of poems and the new collection of humorous and literary essays, Writing While Parenting. Ben has won the Peace Corps Award for the Best Book of Poetry, has twice been shortlisted for the Massachusetts Book Awards, and has received awards from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, New England Poetry Club, and Somerville Arts Council. He's been teaching for 25 years and currently teaches creative writing classes at Brookline High School. He lives in the Boston area with his wife and two daughters.

Kaitlin’s conversation with Ben explores the intersection of creativity and parenting through the lens of his latest book, and how they can coexist.

Ben and Kaitlin talk about:

Why Ben felt compelled to write a book in and around the subject matter of writing while parenting.
The idea that disorder can be a catalyst for creativity and how being a parent as well as working with kids has shifted Ben’s perspective on creativity.
The challenge of balancing creative engagement with parenting responsibilities – how we can make our children a part of our creative journey instead of seeing them as obstacles.
The delicate balance between being fully present in the moment as a parent and detaching to think about it from a creative perspective and how Ben merges the two aspects through his writing.
The relationship between form and content, and how the structures that we create allow for freedom or inhibit it.

More about Ben:

Website: www.ben-berman.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ben.berman.7927/

Pre-order Writing While Parenting here:https://bookshop.org/a/86159/9781773491110

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

S2E13: Mom Rage is a Weathervane—Minna Dubin on Maternal Anger and Structural Inequalities in American Society

Wed, 20 Sep 2023 05:00:00 -0700

"I think about rage as containing information. I talk about anger as a weathervane pointing you towards the places that need attention and healing. So I think rage can be useful in that way of teaching you what needs to change in your life. And it might be that you need more support or you need to not be in charge of bedtime every night or whatever.

Rage is also useful in giving you the energy to create change larger than just your little home." ~ Minna Dubin

We are really excited to share with you this illuminating and enlightening conversation with Minna Dubin. Kaitlin and Minna had the great privilege to meet by way of the Artist Residency in Motherhood group, which she's mentioned on the podcast in the past.

Minna is the author of the book, Mom Rage: The Everyday Crisis of Modern Motherhood, which is out from Seal Press the very week that this episode is released this September, 2023.

Her writing has been featured in the New York Times, Salon, Parents, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Romper, The Forward, Hobart, MUTHA Magazine, and Literary Mama. As a leading feminist voice on mom rage, Minna has appeared on MSNBC, Good Morning America, The Tamron Hall Show, NBC10 Boston, and NPR.

“Modern motherhood is a setup for anger.” ~ Minna Dubin

She lives in Berkeley, California with her husband, her two children, and no pets, she clarifies because, as she says, enough is enough.

Minna and Kaitlin talk about:

How Minna came to writing, particularly how she came to the writing structure she uses in writing Mom Rage.
The different facets of mom rage, and how rage can look different for each individual.
The individual and the institution and how the interplay of both come to highlight where rage and power structures intersect.
How Minna finds community now that she has a clear understanding of those power structures and how they impact her experience of motherhood
How family structures in other cultures and parts of the world differ, and how the individual experiences of motherhood are impacted when you have these structures.
Parenting neurodivergent children and how the lack of societal support structures for them interplays with mom rage.

More about Minna:

Website: www.minnadubin.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/minnadubin

Instagram: www.instagram.com/minnadubin

Pre-order your copy of Mom Rage here: https://bookshop.org/a/86159/9781541601307

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

S2E12 - The Body as Genre: Amanda Montei's Touched Out Touches on Motherhood, Misogyny, Consent, Control, and More

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 05:00:00 -0700

“The way that we think about art, about care work or housework or maintenance labor is interconnected in the sense that these are spheres of society that are often deemed unproductive. Obviously, first and foremost, we need to resist that notion because it's the most important work that we do. I do think of writing as a kind of care work in that sense. It's like a tending. It's tending to our narratives and our cultural understandings of things.

I think it's very easy, especially in the motherhood/parenting sphere, to get wrapped up in our demands and the policies that we need –and absolutely, we need all of that. But there's a reason that that's not happening. I think it's because we need a bigger shift of understanding. We need new language for articulating the way in which women's bodies are exploited and used from a young age through and beyond parenthood.” - Amanda Montei

We’re so grateful to share this conversation with Amanda Montei whose book Touched Out: Motherhood, Misogyny, Consent, and Control lands on bookshelves on September 12th, 2023. Kaitlin and Amanda have had the pleasure of being connected through Amanda’s writing workshops and also through the Artist Residency in Motherhood community where they've staged their own collective residencies alongside other mother-writer-artists in the Bay Area.

Amanda is also the author of Two Memoirs, published by Jaded Ibis Press, and a collection of prose, The Failure Age, as well as co-author of Dinner Poems. Her writing and criticism explore literary and cultural representations of gender, work, care, sexuality, feminism, creativity, and the body. If you're eager to connect with her, she also teaches creative writing at organizations such as Catapult, Corporeal Writing, Hugo House, Writing Workshops, and Write or Die.

Amanda and Kaitlin talk about:

Amanda’s trajectory as a writer, where it intersects with her postpartum experience, and how this postpartum experience impacted her creative work, including her latest book.
Exploring the question of the representation of home and our bodies, particularly women's bodies in connection to the home.
How writing, art, and care work can be a social justice practice, and how narrative can disrupt the false narratives that we unconsciously carry around.
How Amanda is able to practice and sustain creativity as a practice of connection.

More about Amanda:

Website: https://www.amandamontei.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.montei/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amontei/

Pre-order Amanda’s book Touched Out: Motherhood, Misogyny, Consent, and Control: https://bookshop.org/a/86159/9780807013274

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

S2E11 - The Transformative Power of Poetry and Parenting: How Eugenia Leigh's Creative Process Rewrites the Page Itself

Wed, 09 Aug 2023 05:00:00 -0700

“It's like all of the pressures of everything happening build up inside you, and if you don't write it down or put it somewhere— I just couldn't even handle it. I had no other coping mechanisms left. I came to poetry when I was younger as a coping mechanism, and I think I still do sometimes.

Some poets like to pretend that it's a totally intellectual practice and that there's no therapeutic benefit for them. But for me, it did start out as a therapeutic practice, and I think I still turn to it in that way. In some ways, the pandemic helped me access that primal relationship I have with poetry where I went back to the original reason I go to poems.

It's because I needed a place where I could tell the truth. I needed a place where I could process the most impossible things.”~ Eugenia Leigh

In this episode, Kaitlin speaks with Eugenia Leigh. Eugenia is a Korean-American poet and the author of two poetry collections, Bianca from Four-Way Books released this year in March, and Blood, Sparrows, and Sparrows from Four-Way Books in 2014.

Eugenia’s poetry received Poetry Magazine's Bess Hokin Prize and has appeared in numerous publications including The Atlantic, The Nation, Poetry, Ploughshares, and the Best of the Net anthology.

Eugenia and Kaitlin talked about:

Eugenia’s latest book, Bianca, and the whirlwind of launching and promoting it while balancing her roles as a mother and a wife.
How she carves out spaces to write and nourish herself alongside all the other roles she juggles.
Eugenia’s poetry writing process
How she came to find writing as a child
…plus some beautiful excerpts read by Eugenia herself.

More about Eugenia Leigh:

Website: https://www.eugenialeigh.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eugenialeigh/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/eugenialeigh

Linktr.ee: https://linktr.ee/eugenialeigh

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

S2E10 - Centering the Bodily Experience in Creative Practice: A Conversation with Writer and Teacher Molly Caro May

Wed, 26 Jul 2023 05:00:00 -0700

“I remember saying to my husband, I wish there was some sort of machine where I could attach a keyboard to my limbs and learn to type differently through my body so that the writing was a physical dance; instead of just my fingers dancing, it was my whole body dancing. I want to feel, not just sensations in my body, but feel my body in motion as I am writing.

And so a lot of what I do is recording myself as I walk – writing with my voice – and feeling what it feels like to have it come from my pelvis and up my voice, not necessarily through my hand initially.” ~ Molly Caro May

We’re excited to share this conversation with Molly Caro May. Molly is an author, a teacher, and a holder of space. For over 13 years, she's facilitated personal story workshops for more than hundreds of people across the globe. She is trained in somatic experience and focuses on where language, voice, and the animal body meet.

Kaitlin first came to Molly's work ‘Body Full of Stars’ when she was postpartum with her second child. She then decided to read the book aloud to her then-six-year-old eldest daughter for bedtime, which, while unconventional, turned out to be a beautiful experience as you will discover in this episode.

Molly and Kaitlin talk about:

Finding equilibrium in times of transition.
The somatic work in Molly’s creative spaces and what piqued her interest in fostering “...open, unscheduled, unplanned spaces for the creative birthing of anything that our world needs.”
The journey of writing Body Full of Stars, including the experiences that influenced the book’s content, and how Molly’s relationship with the stories within it has evolved with her postpartum experience over the past decade.
The ways in which her writing process has evolved over time, especially how the care work she does for her own body and for her loved ones have influenced this shift.
How being mindful of our body movement can positively impact our writing process.

More about Molly Caro May:

Website: mollycaromay.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mollycaromay/

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

S2E9 - Alloparenting in the Modern Era: Re-envisioning Parenting and Human Community with Dr Darcia Narvaez

Wed, 12 Jul 2023 05:00:00 -0700

**This episode is brought to you in partnership with the With Her and Mind Awareness Campaign of Mindful Philanthropy. Learn how you can act ‘with her in mind’ by visiting www.withherinmind.org.**

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"Throughout life, we need people who are responsive to us, who listen, who think we matter enough to be listened to and who support us. And we also need alloparents. So all these components are not just for mom to do, or mom and dad. It's a community support system.

The community helps with the child raising, whether it's at birth (midwives and doulas), you have people who are there to welcome the baby, who are going to hold the baby, who are going to play with the baby and the children throughout their lives. So it's not just a family affair, it's a community affair." ~ Dr Darcia Narvaez

In this episode, Kaitlin is joined by Dr Darcia Narvaez, professor emerita of psychology and also the host of the EvolvedNest.org and president of kindredworld.org. She's a co-author of the forthcoming book, The Evolved Nest: Nature's Way of Raising Children and Creating Connected Communities, and the film Breaking the Cycle.

Dr Darcia and Kaitlin talk about:

The wonderful spectrum of research and writing Darcia has done throughout her career, why she does it, and how she came to work on the Evolved Nest and all of the other community-building projects associated with it.
The evolved nest's nine (9) practises and how they relate to neuroscience, developmental clinical science, anthropology, and evolution.
How to reconnect with and reclaim the practices and structures that our society has lost in order to return to - or at least get closer to - that evolved nest state.
Darcia's forthcoming book, The Evolved Nest: Nature's Way of Raising Children and Creating Connected Communities, and why she and her co-author structured it in such a way as to speak to our animal nature.
How epigenetics and the influence of our collective cultural traumas overlap, as well as how Dr Darcia's research seeks to address these issues.

More about Dr Darcia:

Website: darcianarvaez.com

The Evolved Nest website: evolvednest.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theevolvednest/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EvolvedNest/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYFv1BZL-mjBJKz5L485EQg

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

S2E8 - Where Working Motherhood and Maternal Activism Intersect: A Conversation with Raena Boston

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0700

This episode is sponsored by Needed, a leading women's health supplement brand. (You can save 20% off your first order of any vitamins or supplements at thisisneeded.com with code POSTPARTUMPRODUCTION.)

AND

Better Help, the world's largest therapy service 100% online. (Go to https://betterhelp.com/postpartumproduction for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help #sponsored)

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“I think the biggest part of doing this work is realizing the blueprint in many ways is already there. We just need to organize people to know what to do. I think a lot of the Chamber of Mothers' mission is you don't have to go it alone. We could all join together and we don't have to know every single thing. We don't have to be perfect at it, but we could know enough to be dangerous.” ~ Raena Boston

In this episode, Kaitlin speaks with Raena Boston. An HR professional for a professional services firm by day, Raena has been described in her after-five role as a table-shaking, sailor-talkin’ truth-teller at her expanding corner of the internet called The Working Momtras. The Working Momtras is a community where she discusses all things motherhood, marriage, careers, and parenting.

It was through that online community that Kaitlin found Raena’s inspiring activist content. In this conversation, they dig in about how we can be the parents to our children we wish we could be, while also maintaining creative careers and pushing forward with important activist agendas.

Raena and Kaitlin talk about:

How Raena came to consider herself a content creator and writer as a mother, and what these roles mean to her.
Versions of success vis-à-vis motherhood and how her definition of success has changed.
The Inspiration behind her writing work with The Working Momtras and her advocacy work with the Chamber of Mothers.
What each one of us can do to support and advance advocacy work for better maternal care, paid leave, affordable childcare, and family support policies

More about Raena Boston

Website: www.theworkingmomtras.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/theworkingmomtras

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raena-boston-001/

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

S2E7 - Honoring the Body and Practice of Pregnancy: Birth and Postpartum with Chiropractor and Childbirth Educator Dr Elliot Berlin

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0700

This episode is sponsored by Needed, a leading women's health supplement brand. (You can save 20% off your first order of any vitamins or supplements at thisisneeded.com with code POSTPARTUMPRODUCTION.)

AND

Better Help, the world's largest therapy service 100% online. (Go to https://betterhelp.com/postpartumproduction for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help #sponsored)

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We’re excited to share with you a conversation with Dr Elliot Berlin. Elliot is an award-winning, prenatal chiropractor, childbirth educator, labor support bodyworker, and co-founder of Berlin Wellness Group in Los Angeles, California.

His separate schooling in massage therapy bodywork and chiropractic formed the backbone of his innovative pre and postnatal wellness care techniques. Dr Berlin's Informed Pregnancy project aims to utilize multiple forms of media, including podcasts, YouTube series, documentaries, and online workshops to compile and deliver unbiased information about pregnancy and childbirth.

Dr Berlin lives in Los Angeles with his wife, perinatal psychologist Dr Alyssa Berlin, and their four fantastic kids. Kaitlin and Dr Berlin first connected about six years ago after the birth of her first child when she was helping produce a childbirth documentary called These are my Hours.

Dr Berlin and Kaitlin talk about:

What sparked Dr Berlin’s interest in healthcare, and how he came to work so deeply in the birth world
How his own birth as a breech baby, and his children’s births played a role in this journey
Dr Berlin’s work with creative postpartum mothers and his observations on how these mothers’ relationship to their creative pursuits tends to shift after they become parents.
How he balances the juggle between immersing himself in serving his clients and being present with his family.
The Informed Pregnancy plus streaming service, Dr Berlin’s new project aimed at making birthing information media easily accessible and affordable.

More about Dr Elliot Berlin:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctorberlin/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/doctorberlin

Everything: https://linktr.ee/doctorberlin

Related Resources:

Berlin Wellness Group: https://www.doctorberlin.com/
Informed Pregnancy project: https://www.informedpregnancy.com/
Childbirth documentary, These are my Hours: https://rootedbirth.org/about-thesearemyhours
Informed Pregnancy Podcast: https://www.informedpregnancy.com/listen
Vaginal breech delivery documentary, Heads Up, The Disappearing Art of Vagival Breech Delivery: https://www.informedpregnancy.com/heads-up
Dr Alyssa Berlin’s Afterbirth Plan: https://www.doctorberlin.com/the-afterbirth-plan
The Informed Pregnancy+ streaming service: https://www.informedpregnancy.tv/

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

S2EP6 - Activism At Home: How Kimberly Seals Allers is Making Equitable Maternal Care Accessible to All

Wed, 31 May 2023 05:00:00 -0700

“Having something that you keep for yourself can actually be the most revolutionary and important thing that you could do in your postpartum journey.” ~ Kimberly Seals Allers

We are thrilled to share with you this conversation with Kimberly Seals Allers, an award-winning journalist, five-time author, and founder of Irth. A leading voice on the racial and sociocultural complexities of birth, breastfeeding, and motherhood, Kimberly created the Irth app for brown and black parents to address bias and racism in maternity and infant care.

Additionally, Kimberly is the host and creator of Birthright, a podcast that promotes positive black birth stories as a tool for birth justice and reverses the narrative of negative statistics that is often reported in mainstream media about black maternal health.

During their conversation, Kimberly and Kaitlin discussed the events that sparked Kimberly's passion for maternal and infant health advocacy.

Kimberly and Kaitlin talked about:

The Irth App, how Kimberly came to create it and what it's doing.
How they deal with resistance from health providers and what adjustments they make to their approach in the face of these challenges.
The events that sparked Kimberly's passion for maternal and infant health advocacy.
Her thoughts and experiences regarding the question “What would a valued motherhood experience look like today?”
What it looks like to really show up in activism for all of these issues that devalue motherhood, including the absence of basic systems such as affordable childcare, paid leave, co-located childcare, etc.
Kimberly’s take on productivity and how we can reframe it in the work that we do in balancing parenting/caregiving and creative practice, which is equally as undervalued as motherhood.

More about Kimberly Seals Allers

Website: https://kimberlysealsallers.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamksealsallers/

Irth App: https://irthapp.com/

Birthright Podcast: http://www.birthrightpodcast.com/

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

S2EP5 - Where Evolutionary Parenting Meets Modern Practice: A Conversation On Postpartum, Parenting Culture, And Creative Pursuits With Tracy Cassels

Wed, 17 May 2023 05:00:00 -0700

“It's okay to struggle in a society that doesn't support you. It's okay to be like, this doesn't work and I have to get some stuff done. The question is then, how do you approach those changes that you have to make with your family in mind [...] while considering everyone? So it's also looking at your child and saying, Yep, this may not be ideal, it may not be what I want it to be, but how do I do it knowing what's most important to my child?”~ Tracy Cassels, PhD

In this episode, Kaitlin has a conversation with Tracy Cassels, PhD. Tracy is the director of Evolutionary Parenting, an online resource and community she founded in 2011 after the birth of her daughter, Maddie.

Tracy is married to Brian, a mother to two young kids, and a stepmother to one older child. She lives in a small town in Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada. Kaitlin came to know her work when seeking more evidence-based resources in early parenting and has always appreciated the community she builds by way of her thoughtful approach.

Tracy and Kaitlin talk about:

Tracy’s pregnancy/birth journey and how it compelled her to build this entire universe and approach of evolutionary parenting.
The impact that our societal, cultural, and structural constraints –lack of federally mandated family leave and the inability to pass a federal caregiver act in the United States– have on our well-being and approach to motherhood and caregiving, as well as society as a whole.
What it looks like to concurrently build support for you and your baby in a system that isn't designed to do so, especially when you can't afford it.
Practical tips on carving out time for our creative pursuits alongside the constraints that becoming a mother and /or carer throws at us.

More about Tracy Cassels PhD:

Website: https://evolutionaryparenting.com/about/

Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/user-563905685

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracycasselsphd/

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

S2EP4 - The Power of the Pause Talking to Dr Pooja Lakshmin About Real Self-Care, Boundaries, Postpartum, Creativity and the Patriarchy

Wed, 03 May 2023 05:00:00 -0700

“I think of the boundary as in the pause. So your boundary is in the space between when someone asks you for something or offers something and you take your pause and then you can say yes, you can say no, or you can negotiate. So the boundary isn't the no, the boundary actually is the space. And then you decide how you're going to move. It's not a brick wall.” ~ Dr Pooja Lakshmin

We’re really excited to talk to Dr Pooja Lakshmin, a psychiatrist specialising in women's mental health, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the George Washington University School of Medicine, founder of Gemma, the digital community focused on women's mental health & equity, and a contributor to the New York Times.

Pooja works with women struggling with burnout, despair, depression and anxiety in her clinical practice and has a wider focus on the intersection of mental health and gender.

In this episode, Kaitlin and Pooja dug more deeply into how and why she helps women and marginalized groups heal from the tyranny of faux self-care while exposing the systems that have gotten us here.

Pooja and Kaitlin talk about:

How Pooja came to the conclusion that the personal relates to all the systems in which we live, and thus revolutionizing the work we do in terms of self-care.
Using ‘boundaries’ or ‘taking a pause’ as a tool for real self-care; a healthy ecosystem where a mother or carer considers their needs as part of the equation when asking for or accepting help.
Several ways in which faux self-care can be conceptualized as a coping mechanism, the capitalistic view of productivity or efficiency being one example.
How Pooja’s work as a psychiatrist and her expertise in the “deeply personal space of the individual” is creating ripples of societal/systems change

More about Dr Pooja Lakshmin

Website: https://www.poojalakshmin.com

Gemma: https://www.gemmawomen.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poojalakshmin/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pooja-lakshmin-md-a0343a129/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/poojalakshmin

Get your own copy of Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness (Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble Baths Not Included): https://bookshop.org/a/86159/9780593489727

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

S2EP3 - Parenting and Writing: Practicalities and Possibilities with KJ Dell'Antonia

Wed, 19 Apr 2023 05:00:00 -0700

“The thing that has not changed for me is the need to protect the time that I need to achieve my creative goals. But the biggest barrier is [that] there's always more to do in that busy household. So you have to make a concerted effort to set aside that time.” ~ KJ Dell’Antonia

In this episode, Kaitlin is joined by KJ Dell’Antonia, the New York Times best-selling author of The Chicken Sisters, In Her Boots, How to Be a Happier Parent, and the forthcoming Playing the Witch Card in a compelling conversation about the intersection of caregiving, creative practice, and capitalism production, and the impressive journey KJ has taken in navigating those roles.

A former editor of the New York Times' Motherload blog, and cohost of The #AmWriting podcast, KJ lives in Lyme, New Hampshire, with her husband and four children, and she has to go outside every day or else she and her dogs will go slightly insane.

KJ and Kaitlin talked about:

How KJ navigates the practicalities of juggling caregiving and creative practice and how she writes about parenting without disrespecting her children's private lives.
The challenges of parenting while pursuing creative goals and how to find a balance between the two.
KJ's methodical approach to creativity and the importance of setting achievable goals.
How to identify your own unique creative process and stay productive and happy with the work you do.
The importance of finding dedicated thinking and working time for creative goals, despite the busyness of household life, and the need to protect that time.
Finding balance in motherhood and creativity without compromising authenticity and finding real happiness.

More about KJ Dell’Antonia:

Website: https://kjdellantonia.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kjda/

The #AmWriting podcast: https://amwriting.substack.com/

Pre-order your copy of Playing the Witch Card: https://bookshop.org/a/86159/9780593713792

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

S2EP2 - Motherhood As Muse: Jazmina Barrera’s Linea Nigra Pushes Against Patriarchal Narrative Forms

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 05:00:00 -0700

This episode features Kaitlin speaking with author and essayist Jazmina Barrera. Born in Mexico City in 1988, Jazmina is the author of four books in Spanish, Cuerpo Extraño, Cuaderno de Faros, Linea Nigra and the children’s books, Los Nombres de los Animales and Punto de Cruz, a recipient of the Latin American Voices prize and a finalist in several awards.

She’s the editor and co-founder of Ediciones Antílope and lives in Mexico City, which is where she was during this conversation.

Jazmina and Kailtin talk about:

Jazmina’s journey in writing her latest book, Linea Nigra, especially given the way in which it is so deeply interwoven with her personal experiences of pregnancy and birth.
The sense and effect of immediacy that comes across in the book, how she wrestled with it during the editorial process, and how it was received by publishers and readers in relation to what is generally considered ‘legitimate’ literature.
How her mother's art practice and grandmother's birth work informed the world in which she was living prior to having a child and how that transition has also supported her life as an artist.
The concept of time in our society today, how motherhood disrupts it, and how Jazmina conceptualizes it in her works.
Linking materiality with lived experiences.

More about Jazmina Barrera:

Instagram: (@jaztronomia) https://www.instagram.com/jaztronomia/

Twitter: (@jaztronomia) https://twitter.com/Jaztronomia

Website: http://jazminabarrera.com/

Get your own copy of Linea Nigra: An Essay on Pregnancy and Earthquakes (English translation by Christina Macsweeney) - https://bookshop.org/a/86159/9781949641301

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

S2E1 - Writing the Writer-Mother: Lessons from Biography and Life in Julie Phillips's work

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 05:00:00 -0700

We'd love to highlight this episode’s sponsor, a product and company that's working to build technologies to assist caregivers in the early phases of postpartum and caregiving—the Bonoch Long Range Baby Monitor.

The Bonoch Long Range Baby Monitor is perfect for larger houses and bigger families so you can effortlessly hear your children when they wake and ensure they're cared for.

Follow this link to find out more about the impressive specifications of the Bonoch Long Range Baby Monitor and to receive a special 30% discount available only to our listeners.

_____________________________________________________

“She said, ‘I don't think a hero can be a mother. I don't think a mother can be a hero.’ And I felt this terrible irritation and frustration that made me realize I want mothers to be heroes. I want them to be heroes, not in the slaying-the-dragon sense, but I just want them to be the heroes of their own stories.” ~ Julie Phillips

Join Kaitlin as she chats with Julie Phillips, an American biographer & book critic, and the author of The Baby on the Fire Escape: Creativity, Motherhood, and the Mind-Baby Problem, which feels like the perfect topic to launch our second season. Julie's previous book, James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon, received several honors including the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Hugo and Locus Awards, and the Washington State book award. She currently lives in Amsterdam with her partner and their two children.

Kaitlin and Julie spoke about:

Julie’s new book, The Baby on the Fire Escape.
How we think about motherhood and intellectualism together, and also how we think about motherhood as an intellectual concept.
What it means to Julie to be sitting at the intersection now of mothering older children and writing biographies of mother writers.
The concept of maintenance work in relation to the political activism of women and caregivers.

More about Julie Phillips:

Website:https://www.julie-phillips.com/

Instagram: @julievanphillips

Facebook:@JuliePhillips

Order your copy of Julie’s latest book here: The Baby on the Fire Escape: Creativity, Motherhood, and the Mind-Baby Problem

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

Season 2 Preview: Embodying the Creative Caregiver, a Season of Hope and Doing the Work

Wed, 08 Mar 2023 05:00:00 -0700

“I feel like I have the most internal struggle when I recognize that my work doesn't have value in a traditional sense and that my creative work and the work I do as a mother is not valued in this system. And trying to remind myself of the values of that, trying to say, Okay, I'm going to spend time today working on this literary fiction that I know will not pay our bills. Does it matter?”

~ Kaitlin Solimine

I don't know, listeners. Does it matter? I'm really curious to hear how you engage with this struggle and how you define seasons.

You can either shoot us an email at hello@postpartumproduction.com or write us a note on our Instagram page.

—_ —_ —_ —_ —_ —_ —_ —_ —_ —_ —_ —_ —_ —_ —_ —_ —_ — _ —_—_ —_—

In season 2 of the Postpartum Production podcast, we will be taking a little bit of a bird’s-eye view - sort of a step back - to examine some of the bigger picture questions that we dug into in the first season.

So while there will be sprinklings of practitioners, writers, poets, artists, etc. who will join us primarily because they have a work that is coming out soon and it makes sense to talk to them while they're engaging with an audience more deeply at this particular time, we are really stepping back and talking to a range of what we see as experts on specific subject matters to examine this particular moment, and to just have a slightly different angle on things for a little bit.

This mini-episode is a teaser to the season and includes a little bit of a preview of recordings we've already done to hopefully give you a sense for what's to come.

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

[Bonus] One Moment in Time: A Special Dedication to Annabelle Kim

Wed, 11 Jan 2023 05:00:00 -0700

"What an immense privilege it is to be able to put words on paper."~ Annabelle Kim

This episode is a special dedication to a dear writer-mother-friend, Annabelle Kim, who passed away in September of 2021 after a battle with stage 4 cancer.

Annabelle, a mother of four, was a mechanical engineer, an inventor, and a novelist. She was the author of Tiger Pelt, published by Leaf Land Press, a small independent publisher. The novel tracks two individuals' intertwined lives through the Japanese occupation of Korea, World War II and the Korean War, and it was based in part on her father's life.

Join Kaitlin as she shares a few pieces from Annabelle's writing that speak to what it means to be a woman and a writer and a caregiver who's navigating all of that and doing so with a refreshing and inspiring perspective.

Related Resources:

Tiger Pelt, Annabelle Kim: https://www.amazon.com/Tiger-Pelt-Annabelle-Kim/dp/0997609001
Returning to Writing After a Stage Four Cancer Diagnosis, Annabelle Kim | Lit Hub:https://lithub.com/returning-to-writing-after-a-stage-four-cancer-diagnosis/
Imagining the Unimaginable Truth (Q&A with Annabelle Kim) by Sonya Chung | Bloom: https://bloomsite.wordpress.com/2017/12/13/imagining-the-unimaginable-truth-qa-with-annabelle-kim/

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com
Follow us on Instagram: @postpartumproductionpodcast
Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

Artist Mothers Under Capitalism: Constraint, Creativity, Perseverance, and Promise

Wed, 21 Dec 2022 05:00:00 -0700

**This episode is sponsored by Full Spectrum Features, a nonprofit social justice organization that uses film to inspire dialogue and create impact. They’re a Chicago-based 501(c)(3) committed to driving equity in the independent film industry by producing, exhibiting, and supporting the work of women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ filmmakers.

You can find out more about Full Spectrum Features and their support of artist caregivers in this episode and on their website at fullspectrumfeatures.com as well as their Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.**

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We’re excited to share with you this season finale compilation episode that draws together the voices and insights from this season. Together, we've examined how we wrestle with our conceptions of motherhood, the constraints of patriarchal structures on caregiving and art, and ways in which the fractured inevitability of early motherhood could perhaps provide new frameworks for creative production that work against existing norms and provide wholly new opportunities for expression, empowerment, and community.

Timestamps:

11:51 - Namrata Poddar, EP 13

12:32 - Sara Petersen, EP 08

13:09 - Heather Powell, EP 07

14:08 - Nancy Reddy, EP 12

15:02 - Amanda Montei, EP 15

15:27 - Namrata Poddar

15:45 - Nora Fiffer, EP 11

16:57 - Sarah Chaves, EP 01

18:18 - Nora Fiffer

20:30 - Emily Pérez, EP 12

21:27 - MM De Voe, EP 09

22:04 - Dani Rowe, EP 06

22:34 - Vanessa Hua, EP 05

23:17 - Jackie Leonard, EP 02

23:58 - Sarah Chaves

24:57 - Vanessa Hua

26:40 - Amanda Montei, EP 15

26:57 - Minna Dubin, EP 15

27:16 - Cindy DiTiberio, EP 15

27:47 - Heather Powell

28:30 - Sara Petersen

29:38 - Emily Midorikawa, EP 14

29:51 - Erika Lee Sears, EP 10

30:18 - Katherine Duclos, EP 03

31:59 - Emily Midorikawa

33:09 - K. Lorraine Graham, EP 04

Visit our website at www.postpartumproduction.com for the complete show notes.

Marginalia #1: How We Hear the World as New Mothers

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 05:00:00 -0700

This episode is a quick update from Kaitlin in which she checks in with you, dear listener, and shares what’s on her mind and what creative and early postpartum challenges she’s grappling with. If you’re a regular reader of our Substack newsletter, you’ll be familiar with her “Recent Musings” section; this is an audio version of the same. And if you have no idea what we’re talking about, no need to feel left out. Go on and subscribe to the newsletter right now by following this link.

Kaitlin also shares a sneak preview of season 2; what to expect, whom to expect, and what will make Season 2 different from Season 1.

This is a short and sweet one - only 5 minutes of your time.

PS: We want to be mindful of your time and interest, so your feedback will be very valuable to us. Let us know your thoughts through email, hello@postpartumproduction.com

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack:https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

Do We Forget the Babysitter?: An Artist Residency in Motherhood, Collectively

Wed, 30 Nov 2022 05:00:00 -0700

A wonderful resource that's come up on the podcast is the Artist Residency in Motherhood organization, which artist and mother, Lenka Clayton started in 2012. Kaitlin didn't know much about the organization until last year(2021) when a fellow writer and mother, Amanda Montei mentioned it in a class of hers Kaitlin was taking, and then alerted the class of a Facebook group that was spawned out of this residency.

Kaitlin joined the group and was linked up with a Bay Area group of caregiver artists whose work runs in and around topics of motherhood and art in the modern era.

In an attempt to capture some of the zeitgest of one of their most recent residency gatherings, Kaitlin set up a recording space so each participant could weigh in on their experiences and thoughts of the collective residency in real-time.

Amanda Montei, Cindy DiTiberio, Patti Maciesz and Minna Dubin were the participants; and this episode is the result of these collective voices, which feels like a dreamscape of the artist-mother mind of what residencies afford those of us privileged enough to build the time and space into our lives, to devote ourselves solely to our artistic and creative pursuit.

Find out more about them in the show notes here.

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack:https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

Out of the Shadows: Emily Midorikawa on the Condition of Women’s Voices in Victorian Times

Wed, 09 Nov 2022 05:00:00 -0700

“There's a tendency when talking about narratives of female empowerment to want historical figures to be wholly good or wholly villainous. And I think there's not always enough opportunity to look at people [for whom] maybe it's a bit more of a grey area, perhaps— they're complicated. They did some things that we could admire and maybe some are not so admirable. To me, that wasn't really an issue. They were still fascinating figures.” ~ Emily Midorikawa

Emily Midorikawa is the author of Out of the Shadows: Six Visionary Victorian Women in Search of a Public Voicepublished by Counterpoint Press. Emily is also the co-author of a Secret Sisterhood: The Literary Friendships of Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontё, George Eliot, and Virginia Woolf written with Emma Claire Sweeney and published in 2017.

Emily's the winner of the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize. Her journalism has appeared in the Paris Review, TIME, The Times (of London), and the Washington Post. She teaches in the writing program at New York University London.

Emily and Kaitlin actually have been connected virtually for almost a decade, and Kaitlin followed her writing career with interest.

Kaitlin and Emily spoke at length about:

The women Emily covered in her book;
Some theories she has about how their circumstances enabled them to find platforms for expression;
Emily’s process of creating Out of the Shadows while pregnant with both children.

This conversation was edited down a bit, but you can hear the whole episode by following this link.

Find out more about Emily:

Website: https://emilymidorikawa.com/

Instagram: @midorikawaemily

Twitter: @EmilyMidorikawa

Check out her book: Out Of the Shadows

Related Resources:

Out of the Shadows: https://bookshop.org/a/86159/9781640095298

Secret Sisterhood: https://bookshop.org/a/86159/9781328532381

An article about the Fox Sisters: the-fox-sisters-and-the-rap-on-spiritualism-99663697

Emma Hardinge Britten: http://www.ehbritten.org/

Susan B. Anthony: susan-b-anthony

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack:https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

“The Good Mother”: Namrata Poddar on the Emotional Labor of the Caregiver-Artist Bind

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 05:00:00 -0700

“I'm still trying to make sense of a culture of caregiving that ‘good mothers’ are good caregivers…A ‘good mother’ is someone who doesn't question or resist caregiving, whereas men are never socialized into that narrative.”Namrata Poddar

Namrata Poddar writes fiction and non-fiction, is an editor for Kweli journal and teaches literature and writing at UCLA. Her work has appeared in several publications including Poets & Writers, Literary Hub, Longreads, The Kenyon Review, and The Best Asian Short Stories. Her debut novel, Border Less, was a finalist for Feminist Press’s Louise Meriwether Prize, and is longlisted for The Center of Fiction First Novel Prize.

Namrata joined Kaitlin in this episode to talk about:

Her book, Border Less - a novel about the migratory journal of Dia Mittal,an airline call center agent in Mumbai who is searching for a better life.
Becoming a Mother-Writer: Notes on Reconciling the Personal, the Professional, and the Political - an essay she wrote for Poets & Writers.
How she experiences her mothering identity as a feminist living in a patriarchal society.

More about Namrata Poddar:

Website:http://www.namratapoddar.com/

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/writerpoddar/

Related Resources:

Find out more about Border Less -https://bookshop.org/a/86159/9781736176788
Namrata’s essay, Becoming a Mother-Writer | Poets & Writers: https://www.pw.org/content/becoming_a_motherwriter_notes_on_reconciling_the_personal_the_professional_and_the_political
Camille T. Dungy’s 2017 nonfiction book, Guidebook to Relative Strangers: Journeys Into Race, Motherhood, and History - https://bookshop.org/a/86159/9780393356083
Angela Garbes new book, Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change - https://bookshop.org/a/86159/9780062937360
Sylvia Federici, Revolution at Point Zero: https://bookshop.org/a/86159/9781629637976

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

Fractured Time: Writing and Reading Poetry During Motherhood with Nancy Reddy and Emily Pérez

Wed, 12 Oct 2022 09:00:00 -0700

"I think of all the arts, poetry is a really good one to pair with motherhood, because you can do something that feels complete in the fractured time you have, and then you can revise it in fractured time." ~ Emily Pérez

Have you ever been at a conference, totally energized and excited, but you leave and have lost all that momentum?

Thankfully, this was not the experience for poets Nancy Reddy and Emily Pérez. They shared in a panel conversation at a writing conference, then took all of the energy and support they received and channeled it into being co-editors of a new and inspiring collection of writing in and around motherhood called “The Long Devotion: Poets Writing Motherhood.”

“It seemed important at that point to present views on motherhood that would be like all three of those things - difficulty, ambivalence, and joy - because I think both of us, at that point in our writing and mothering journey, didn't feel like we saw the real complexity of mothering and trying to write while mothering represented in the work that we saw, or maybe we did see that work and we wanted to find a way to gather it together and to talk about it.” ~ Nancy Reddy

Emily is the author of What Flies Want, winner of the Iowa Prize; House of Sugar, House of Stone; and two chapbooks. She teaches high school in Denver, where she lives with her family.

Nancy has authored Pocket Universe and Double Jinx, among others, alongside her day job teaching writing at Stockton University.

Nancy and Emily joined Kaitlin on the podcast to chat about The Long Devotion, the inspiration behind it, and the many amazing writers that generously contributed to it. They also spoke about poetry and how it intersects with and enriches motherhood.

Visit our website at postpartumproduction.com for the complete show notes.

More about Nancy and Emily:

Nancy’s website: http://www.nancyreddy.com/

Nancy’s Instagram: @nancy.o.reddy

Emily’s website: www.emilyperez.org

Emily’s Instagram: @theemperez

Order your copy of their book here: The Long Devotion: Poets Writing Motherhood

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack:https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

Another Happy Day: Exploring Postpartum and Filmmaking with Nora Fiffer

Wed, 28 Sep 2022 09:00:00 -0700

“When I became a mother and the work deepened and changed, part of that was because if you're gonna spend the time on a project, it better be worth it. It better be important.”

~ Nora Fiffer

Nora Fiffer is a writer, director, actor, and producer based in Chicago and New Hampshire. In New Hampshire, Nora co-founded Firelight Theater Workshop, dedicated to creating innovative theater experiences. Nora is currently working on her debut feature film, Another Happy Day, planned to release in 2023.

In this episode, Kaitlin and Nora discussed how she has navigated postpartum and her relationship to motherhood, acting, filmmaking, money making, and her artistic practice. In addition, they explored how Nora’s postpartum experiences influenced the creation of her upcoming film, Another Happy Day (currently in production).

They also talked about:

Nora’s life before children, and how she navigated her transition into motherhood, given all she had to put on hold.
How Nora came to dig in so specifically on the postpartum experience and why it was so compelling to her in her creative journey.
Nora’s upcoming film, Another Happy Day and the inspiration behind it.
How our capitalist culture shapes the way that we view productivity, and how much of what we deem truly productive to us as caregivers goes unseen.

More about Nora:

Website:http://www.norafiffer.com/

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/norafiffer/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nora.fiffer

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Follow us on Instagram: @postpartumproductionpodcast

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

Erika Lee Sears is Capturing This Cultural Moment Through her Oil Paintings

Wed, 14 Sep 2022 09:00:00 -0700

"When I think about my work in particular, I fall on creative journey. I really think about my creativity and what I wanna be making and what ideas excite me. But I also think about - what are the daily moments that are around us? What are we capturing as creatives? As writers, we are kind of historians of our time. We are dictating what is happening around us all the time. We are the people on the streets that are deciding what's gonna be a moment in time. Our fingerprint on the world that's gonna be left for later." ~ Erika Lee Sears

In this episode, Kaitlin chats with Erika Lee Sears, a self taught oil painter and full-time artist who makes an original piece of art every single day and shares her journey of this daily making online.

Kaitlin and Erika spoke about motherhood, art, and legacy given the current political atmosphere and global challenges from climate change and war, to gun violence and attacks on women's rights.

Erika and Kaitlin talk about:

What it means to be both a self-taught oil painter, and a prolific visual artist during motherhood.
How Erika got into creating an oil painting everyday for the past seven years, from 6 weeks postpartum.
Legacies, and how the work we’re producing today will impact civilization many years from now. For example, what impact our work in creating more equality for women and caregivers will have on civilisation in 500 years.
How Erika has been able to earn money and support herself through her art.

You can find Erika at her:

Website:www.erikaleesears.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erikaleesears/

Balancing Parenthood and Writing Roles: MM De Voe Builds Communities to Help Caregivers Stay Creative After Having Kids

Wed, 31 Aug 2022 09:00:00 -0700

“If you try to balance your writing career against your parenting as though it's on a scale, like, ‘I'm balancing my life like a scales of justice scale, and there's only these two things and one goes up and the other goes down’--If you try to do that, you are guaranteed to be miserable because whenever your parenting is going great, you will think that your writing is going badly. And when your writing is going great, you will feel like your parenting is going badly. And that is not how one should look at life.”

~ MM De Voe

Join Kaitlin as she chats with MM De Voe, a writer of internationally acclaimed speculative literary fiction and poetry. Born to a traditional Lithuanian family of six in College Station, Texas, M as her writer friends call her, was raised Catholic and bilingual by an organic chemistry researcher and a Montessori directress.

She's the founder of the literary nonprofit, Pen Parentis, and the author of the fun instructional memoir Book and Baby, which won first place in writing publishing at the 2021 indie awards. She lives in Manhattan, where as she puts it, she spends her days reveling in irony.

M is deeply passionate about the subject matter of the intersection of parenting and writing, and naturally, this podcast conversation seeks to shine a light on the origin of this passion.

MM and Kaitlin talk about:

How M juggled her writing with caregiving when her children were much younger, and how this fuelled the birth of Pen Parentis.
Several insightful tips and pieces of advice that M has for parents who are writers.
What M refers to as the Mobile Model; a healthier and more balanced way of viewing the different roles we juggle as creatives, members of society, wives, children and caregivers.
Cultivating the art of being fully present with our children in order to offer them the best quality of our time, as opposed to stewing in the guilt of not being able to offer them the larger amounts of time we unconsciously deem good enough.
The Pen Parentis community and how it supports writing parents, whatever phase of life or expertise they may be in.

Click here for the full episode show notes.

As an aside, you might hear Kaitlin's daughter playing in the background during this episode.

As Kaitlin mentioned earlier, she was literally doing what MM De Voe discusses in her book. This episode was recorded right after school was on break and Kaitlin’s 6 year old daughter, C, was in the room; she contributed a little bit to the conversation as you'll hear. Be sure to stay to the end of the episode for her take on timers.

How about you? What do you think about timers for creative work?

Let us know by sending an email to hello@postpartumproduction.com

Sara Petersen’s Writing Holds a Mirror to Momfluencer Culture and American Motherhood

Wed, 17 Aug 2022 09:00:00 -0700

“Motherhood makes us all so insecure and vulnerable as it is. It's just an innately vulnerable experience that's just rife for feeling bad about yourself or feeling unsure about your choices. We're just ‘onslaughted’ with so many people—most of them strangers—that we're just constantly consuming other people's renditions of motherhood.

And it's dizzying in terms of feeling comfortable and solid with your own decisions.”

~ Sara Petersen

Momfluencers on social media are pervasive in today's culture, with focuses on everything from fashion, to parenting philosophies, to humor. It's interesting to see the impact of performative motherhood, both on practicing artists and mothers, how we present our private and public selves. And there's a lot to learn from Sara Petersen’s work, especially as it holds a mirror to American motherhood in this particular socio-historical moment.

Join Kaitlin as she talks with Sara, a writer based in New Hampshire, about momfluencers, as well as how she became the writer and mother that she is today.

Sara’s first book, Momfluenced examines the performance of motherhood through the multi-layered phenomenon of momfluencer culture, what this reveals about the texture of modern motherhood and what we might learn from it. Momfluenced will be coming out in 2023 with Beacon Press.

Sara and Kaitlin talk about:

How Sara became a writer and how she manages to juggle writing with motherhood.
The early life experiences that informed Sara’s views and fantasies of what motherhood should look like, in juxtaposition with the performative aspects of motherhood that she now unpacks in her writing.
Momfluencer culture and it’s different faucets and trends
The broad spectrum of postpartum mood disorders and intense changes we experience after birth, plus how they are habitually glossed over and downplayed.

Find out more about Sara:

Website: http://sara-petersen.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slouisepetersen/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/slouisepetersen

In many of these episodes, we've covered the privilege of moms pursuing creative work who have the resources to do so without working a traditional 9 to 5 out-of-the-home job.

If you're a creative parent building an artistic life while also caregiving and working an unrelated 9 to 5 job, we'd love to hear from you and how you're able to find creative moments in the mayhem of your daily life and work.

Drop us a line hello@postpartumproduction.com

Related resources:

Sara Petersen's recent newsletter about her takeaways from this podcast interview: https://sarapetersen.substack.com/p/babies-dont-need-cardigans?utm_source=email
Listen to Sarah Chaves in Episode 1 as she reflects on her juggle of creative pursuits with motherhood and a 9-to-5: https://www.postpartumproduction.com/episodes/01
Here’s Emily Henderson’s blog: https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/all-posts
Naomi Davis on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taza
More about Writer and poet Kate Baer: https://www.katebaer.com/

At Home and in Concert: A Mother’s Relationship With Time, Musical Work Spaces, and Shifting Identities with Heather Powell

Wed, 03 Aug 2022 09:00:00 -0700

“How fun would it be to have a space where the kids could be kids and we could mother them, but we could also do our creative work with each other?! I don't know what that would look like, but it sounds like a world that I would love to inhabit.”

~ Heather Powell

In this episode, Kaitlin talks with Heather Powell about the guilt that comes to surface when balancing motherhood and more specifically, about how she balances her value of creating musical/live art with that of being a parent to one child, with another on the way at the time of this recording.

Heather is an orchestral violinist who works as a chamber musician and soloist. She is also the lead producer of “Before You Had A Name,” a unique live performance collaboration which marries chamber music, classical dance, and visual art to explore the theme of maternity, that Kaitlin spoke about in episode 6 with choreographer, Dani Rowe, who worked with Heather on that project.

Heather and Kaitlin talk about:

How Heather’s identity as a person and an artist shifted after having a child
Her struggle to justify the importance of being an artist when you have someone who needs you present all the time.
Before You Had a Name, Heather’s collaborative project with Choreographer Dani Rowe (also a previous guest on the Postpartum Production podcast).
Heather’s musings and exploration of the idea of bringing our children to work as an integral value in the absence of capitalism.
Heather’s definitions of creativity and postpartum.

—— In our conversation, like many of these conversations with artists that I’ve had, Heather mentioned at first that she finds it hard to justify her creative pursuits while mothering. And at the same time, she answered the importance of keeping creative pursuits intact twice in this conversation when she said, first, creativity is fundamentally human. And next, Creativity is connecting with your soul and surroundings.

What is creativity to you? I’d love to hear from you. Send us an email: hello@postpartumproduction.com ——

~ Kaitlin Solimine. Host & Producer.

You can link up with Heather through her:

Website: https://www.heather-violin.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heatherpower.violin/

Finding Flow: Dani Rowe Talks About Dance, Choreography, and Motherhood

Wed, 20 Jul 2022 09:00:00 -0700

“Becoming a mother gave me this drive and confidence. I felt like I had a voice and that I felt ready to be that person that was at the front of the room, having those ideas, using my imagination, and attempting to communicate that to a whole room of dancers.”

~ Dani Rowe

Kaitlin talks with Choreographer and filmmaker, Dani Rowe about her transition to motherhood and how that impacted her career as a whole. Dani started out as a dancer from very early on in her life, with her first professional role at age 17. From 2001-2015, she was a Principal Dancer with the Australian Ballet and Houston Ballet, and also danced with the prestigious Nederlands Dans Theater.

After her daughter was born, having moved to the States with her husband (also a dancer), Dani pursued choreography and became even more dedicated to dance, though in a different way. She has created works for San Francisco Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater’s SWITCH program, and Royal New Zealand Ballet, to name a few.

During the pandemic, her work shifted to include filmmaking, which you can see on her website.

Dani and Kaitlin talk about:

Dani’s transition from dancer, to mother and choreographer.
Before You Had a Name, a unique collaborative project between Dani, violinist and upcoming guest on this podcast Heather Powell, and dancer & choreographer Sarah van Patten.
The unfavorable effect that pregnancy often has on female dancers' careers, an outrageous imbalance that inarguably stems from patriarchal bias, and one that the very foundation of Before You Had a Name challenged from the get go.
The juggle between motherhood and Dani’s choreography work.
The concept of invisible work, how that resonates with Dani, and the importance and value of making space for creative ideas.

Related resources:

More about Before You Had a Name:https://www.daniellerowe.net/#/beforeyouhadaname/
More about Violinist Heather Powell:https://www.heather-violin.com/bio
More about Dancer Sarah Van Patten:@sarah.vanpatten
To find out more about flow, read the book and research by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

You can find Dani on her:

Website:https://www.daniellerowe.net/

Instagram: _danirowe_

Lived Experiences Shape Fiction with Vanessa Hua

Wed, 06 Jul 2022 09:00:00 -0700

As writers, we are always bringing so much into the work that is not just that time that you're sitting at your desk, or wherever it is that you work.

Join us as Kaitlin talks with Vanessa Hua, an award-winning columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, and the author of the national bestseller A River of Stars (https://www.amazon.com/River-Stars-Novel-Vanessa-Hua/dp/0399178783). She wrote, and most recently published a novel Forbidden City (http://www.vanessahua.com/forbidden-city ).

Vanessa and Kaitlin met in 2009 at the Breadloaf Writers conference in Middlebury, Vermont, and continued their writerly friendship in LA, where they were both living at the time.

You can expect to hear all about the new novel, Forbidden City, the inspiration behind it, and Vanessa’s tips on how to write a successful novel while juggling motherhood and other care responsibilities.

Vanessa and Kaitlin talk about:

The mental shifts and practical processes Vanessa puts in place to help her be more centred & intentional about her writing while juggling the many competing demands and distractions in her life as a mother, wife, daughter, columnist, teacher, sister, friend, etc.
The significant impact that our lived experiences have on our practice as writers and creatives; seeing the work we do through this lens helps us reframe our interaction with the world as valid, valuable, and ‘productive’.
How Vanessa navigates the private and public in her work, especially when she's both a novelist and a journalist, which require different hats and different sets of writing tools.
…and of course, what postpartum and productivity mean to Vanessa.

Visit our website at postpartumproduction.com for the full show notes.

You can find Vanessa at her:

Website: http://www.vanessahua.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mononoke97/

And check out her new book, Forbidden City: http://www.vanessahua.com/forbidden-city

For regular updates:

Visit our website: http://postpartumproduction.com/

Subscribe to our podcasts newsletter: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

Work In Progress: A New Model of Being a Mother and an Artist with K. Lorraine Graham

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 09:00:00 -0700

In this episode, Kaitlin talks with K. Lorraine Graham about the process—versus the production—of art, and the unfinished work of art and parenting. They also delve into what it means to be forever in postpartum.

Lorraine makes poems and texts that sometimes manifest as drawings, games and performances. She is the author of The Rest Is Censored, Terminal Humming and a recent chaplet of new work from Belladonna. Her work appears in Flarf: An Anthology of Flarf, Omniverse, and Postmodern Culture.

Lorraine and Kaitlin talk about:

How the different phases of depression/depressive moments she goes through play into her identity as an artist and her role as a mother.
Navigating the practice of actively challenging & defying the false expectations faced by women in general, and creative mothers in particular, most of which are steeped in gender and marital heteronormative norms.
The endlessly generative, but unfinished nature of both parenting and creative practice.
The sense of liberation and boldness that postpartum, middle age, and motherhood often afford us, especially as artists and creatives.

You can find K Lorraine Graham at her:

Website: https://klorrainegraham.com/

Instagram:@klorrainegraham

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcasts newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

Part II - Seeing Yourself in Your Child: Katherine Duclos has Learned More About Herself and her Art Through Raising a Neurodivergent Son

Wed, 15 Jun 2022 09:00:00 -0700

"I didn't know that I would learn so much about who I am by being a mother, figuring out how to mother somebody who's just like me in the ways that I wish I were better. He mirrors the hard parts; mirrors the parts that have been really difficult for me to manage my whole life.”

~ Katherine Duclos

In part 2 of this 2-part episode with Katherine Duclos, Kaitlin and Katherine talk about Katherine’s relationship with her neurodivergent son, and how his diagnosis has shone a light on who she is as a person, a mother, and an artist.

Katherine and Kaitlin talk about:

An important aspect of motherhood that is inherent in the role; the ability to put others needs before ours, a theme that runs through every mother’s life, but is in conflict with the balancing of our professional and parenting identities.
Her son’s neurodivergence and the impact it has on the way he views the world, especially through his art. Katherine also shares her own perspective and relationship with neurodivergence.
What the words ‘postpartum’ and ‘production’ mean to Katherine, and how they’re intersecting in her life at home.

Find out more about Katherine and her art through:

Her website: https://www.katherineduclos.com/sculpture-2022

Her instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katherine_duclos_rose/

Related resources:

Listen to Part 1 of this episode with Katherine: https://www.postpartumproduction.com/episodes/03/1
Have a look at and find out more about Katherine’s sculptures and art: https://www.katherineduclos.com/sculpture-2022

For regular updates:

Visit our website: http://postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcasts newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

Part 1 - Making Space for Art: How Katherine Duclos Transforms Everyday Objects of Motherhood into Artistic Practice

Wed, 08 Jun 2022 09:00:00 -0700

In this episode, Kaitlin talks with Katherine Duclos. A New England native that Kaitlin has known since their high-school days, Katherine is a prolific artist who received her MFA in Painting and Drawing from Pratt Institute - Brooklyn, NY in 2012. She then moved with her family from New York City to Vancouver, BC where she maintains an active multi-media studio practice delving into concepts of motherhood, identity, neurodivergence, materiality, and more.

Episode 3 is a 2-part installation, and in this first part, Katherine and Kaitlin talk about:

How Katherine has navigated her growth as an artist through the different phases of her life, especially the stark contrast between her life before and after motherhood.
What drove Katherine to start her Low Supply project, for which she made art using what she referred to as artifacts of breastfeeding. (Did you know breast pumps cannot be resold on Facebook? We didn’t!)
Katherine’s shifting art practice as her personal relationship to breastfeeding changes.
Capitalist society and the expectations on mothers to produce something meaningful, as well as the critical importance larger communities have on breastfeeding and early caregiving support.

Follow this link for the complete show notes: postpartumproduction.com

Related resources:

Check out Katherine’s Low Supply Project:https://www.katherineduclos.com/lowsupply
The Low Supply Project Statement:https://www.katherineduclos.com/lowsupplystatement
The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, La Leche League https://www.llli.org/resources/womanly-art-breastfeeding/
To The New Mum Quietly Suffering From Breastfeeding Grief - Marternal Mental Health Awareness, HuffPost https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/holly-leppard/to-the-new-mum-quietly-su_b_16512266.html

Find out more about Katherine and her art through:

Her website: https://www.katherineduclos.com/sculpture-2022

Her instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katherine_duclos_rose/

For regular updates:

Visit our website: http://postpartumproduction.com

Subscribe to our podcasts newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

Postpartum as a Catalyst: Becoming a Mother Cracked Open Jackie Leonard’s Creative Possibilities

Wed, 25 May 2022 09:00:00 -0700

"I've heard the expression that people are cracked open when they give birth, and for me, I think I just felt so jarred by this birth that happened in a way that I didn't understand and wanted to make sense of. I felt like there were a lot of things that happened in my personal life at the time that were a lot for me to hold inside. And since I was a young child and could write, that's been the way that I am able to make sense of what's happening in my life. And so it was just a therapeutic thing."

~ Jackie Leonard

In this episode, Kaitlin talks with Jackie Leonard, Founder of Motherscope and host of The Motherscope Podcast. Jackie is a lifelong writer and Southern California native now based in Oregon, whose early experiences of motherhood acted as a catalyst for the birth of Motherscope; a community of moms who inspire and uplift one another by writing and sharing their own stories.

Kaitlin and Jackie were first connected by a mutual friend for Motherscope’s Issue 4: Use Your Own Motherhood, where Kaitlin wrote Tandem – a piece about tandem nursing. Kaitlin is a regular contributor to the Motherscope Journal to this day.

We’re excited to see what you glean from Jackie’s insights on how she's navigated writing and motherhood, and how community is such a critical piece of that puzzle.

Jackie and Kaitlin talk about:

The genesis of Motherscope, how old Jackie’s kids were when it started, and how she’s navigated creativity and her postpartum journey.
The juxtaposition between the relentless role of taking care of and feeding a low-birth newborn while her own battered body healed - without much help or support - AND and the busy-ness of an active mind that just wanted to be ‘productive’ and creative.
The value of her earlier postpartum solitude, and what drove her to create community.
Jackie’s perspective and definition of postpartum and creativity.

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Follow us on Instagram: @postpartumproductionpodcast

Subscribe to our podcasts newsletter on Substack:

https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

Redefining Motherhood’s Worth Through Art with Memoirist Sarah Chaves

Wed, 11 May 2022 09:00:00 -0700

"I put so much pressure on myself to produce when I was pregnant. Just because there was that end date of Ooh, baby will finally come out into the world but also like this end of a chapter in my life where I would be able to produce as widely or as efficiently before I actually had the baby. So that was probably my biggest challenge during pregnancy."

~ Sarah Chaves

In this episode, Kaitlin is joined by Sarah Chaves. Sarah is a first-generation Portuguese-American author, mom and educator whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Teen Vogue, and more. Her current project is a memoir about the death of her father when she was a teenager.

Sarah is also a mother to one vivacious little boy named Leo, and was three months postpartum at the time of this episode’s recording.

Sarah and Kaitlin talk about:

The questions and topics mothers face during postpartum and beyond, plus those that many creative practitioners also face.
The financial impact of being a mother, specifically the challenges of navigating a complete lack of a federal US maternity leave policy, which leaves so many new families in the lurch.
Sarah's memoir and the role her mother played both as a character in her writing & work.
And lots more.

Sarah can be found on:

Instagram: @sarita_chaves

Her website: sarahchaves.com

Related resources:

Some further reading on the false dichotomy between motherhood and creativity that Sarah talks about.

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Follow us on Instagram: @postpartumproductionpodcast

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

Introducing the Postpartum Production Podcast with Kaitlin Solimine

Tue, 03 May 2022 03:35:00 -0700

"Postpartum is really about a constant period of identity transformation, and exploring every challenge and possibility that comes with that massive life transition.”

~ Kaitlin Solimine

Welcome to our corner of the world. This is the Postpartum Production Podcast. In this podcast, you’ll hear from artists like novelists, painters, filmmakers, choreographers, and more who are mothers and caregivers. Join us every other week as we unpack concepts like: What is postpartum? What does it mean to be a mother and an artist in a capitalist society? How do we stay relevant and visible as artists when our lives are completely transformed by the caregiving for another human being?

We will be constantly examining and re-examining what it means to be a productive artist and parent, and how we can work together to redefine productivity to create more supportive communities, careers, workspaces, and family structures for artist-caregivers.

We are excited for you to join this conversation.

We’d really love it if you could subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

Find out more about us:

Website: www.postpartumproduction.com

Instagram: @postpartumproductionpodcast

Subscribe to our newsletter: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com