This Giving Birth

Compelling essays which underline the central place pregnancy and childbirth hold in women’s writing. Embracing three centuries of prose and poetry, the anthology traces the evolution of American maternity literature, exploring the difficulties mothers faced as they struggled to transform themselves from objects into maternal subjects. Women as diverse as Anne Bradstreet, Anne Sexton, Sharon Olds, Kate Chopin, Toni Morrison, and Louise Erdrich all labored to reclaim the birthing process by giving voice to experiences and emotions long devalued by a patriarchal culture. Their voices resonate throughout this collection.

Compelling essays which underline the central place pregnancy and childbirth hold in women’s writing. Embracing three centuries of prose and poetry, the anthology traces the evolution of American maternity literature, exploring the difficulties mothers faced as they struggled to transform themselves from objects into maternal subjects.

Internet Bookwatch

This Giving Birth: Pregnancy And Childbirth In American Women's Writing offers an engaging and informative series of essays on the central place pregnancy and childbirth hold in American's women's writing. Surveying three centuries of prose and poetry, This Giving Birth traces the evolution of American maternity literature, exploring the difficulties mothers faced as they struggled to transform themselves from objects into maternal subjects. This Giving Birth showcases the writings of women as diverse as Anne Bradstreet, Anne Sexton, and Sharon Olds, to Kate Chopin, Toni Morrison, and Louise Erdich. Blending the canonical with the contemporary, This Giving Birth is a literary celebration and a highly recommended addition to students of American literature, and women's studies reading lists.