A Literary Mother’s Day | Mechanics' Institute

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A Literary Mother’s Day

Writing is an outrageously time-consuming occupation. Parenting, even more so. Yet somehow, some human beings manage to do both simultaneously. Today, in honor of Mother’s Day 2020, we offer glimpses into the lives of women who have tackled both literary and maternal careers—and lived (in most cases) to tell the tale.

Let’s get real

In 2013, Alice Munro capped her brilliant career as a short-story writer with a Nobel prize. But why, she has often been asked, did she never publish a novel? Initially, “it was simply a matter of expediency,” the Canadian author told The Atlantic in 2001. “I had small children, I didn't have any help. There was no way I could get that kind of time.” (Click here for 88-year-old Munro’s latest collection, Dear Life).

Nature, not nurture

In 1797, the English writer Mary Wollstonecraft (A Vindication of the Rights of Women) died just a few days after giving birth to her second daughter. But her legacy lived on: the baby—also named Mary—grew up to be the wife of Romantic poet Percy Shelley, and the author of the Gothic classic Frankenstein.

On second thought

Once upon a time, Claire Messud wasn’t interested in offspring. “One thing I ‘knew’ growing up was that one mustn’t have children if one wanted to write,” she recalled in a 2015 interview with The Boston Globe. Today, Messud is the author of six critically-acclaimed novels (including New York Times bestseller The Emperor's Children) and the mother of two teens.

Mom as metaphor

In 1885, Charlotte Perkins Gilman gave birth to her only child and promptly plunged into the horrific depression described in her short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Eventually ceding child custody to her spouse, Gilman became a prominent social reformer and author, calling for women to get out of the house, enter the workforce, and “mother” the entire world.

Four little words

Prolific novelist Jennifer Weiner, when asked by Writer’s Digest how she managed to write with two young daughters at home, cut right to the chase: “I have a nanny.”  (Check out Weiner’s latest, the 2019 family saga Mrs. Everything.)

A little self-restraint, please

According to Alice Walker, whose numerous influential works range from the Pulitzer prize-winning The Color Purple to a memoir on chicken farming, it’s perfectly possible to write while parenting. The only catch: the writer must limit herself to a single child. “With more than one you’re a sitting duck,” warns Walker, whose daughter, Rebecca, follows in her professional footsteps.

Sisterhood is powerful

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the 19th-century powerhouse who penned The Woman’s Bible and co-wrote the multi-volume History of Women’s Suffrage with Susan B. Anthony, was the mother of seven. The secret behind her literary success? More often than not, she’d tap childfree Anthony to babysit while she wrote.

Keep out (this means you)

Novelist and essayist Zadie Smith (Grand Union, Swing Time) has met many a deadline while mothering. Her advice? “Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.”

Happy Mother’s Day to all—and whatever your profession, may you find the time, space, and bandwidth to get your work done!

Posted on May. 8, 2020 by Autumn Stephens