Description
A child is born and everything is made anew. In this blur of new beginnings there are tears and laughter, new words and new silences: this is an unmaking and remaking of the self.
From short stories about unnerved fathers and lost mothers, to poems about ‘half-built Lego palaces’ and friends who share their deepest secrets, Blood & Cord is a raw exploration of new parenthood. Voicing silenced conversations about loss, grief, and loneliness, as well as the joys and laughter that are part and parcel of becoming a parent, the stories told within offer a refreshingly honest account of life after new life.
This collection is a hand in the dark, offering comfort and solidarity to any new parent.
Edited by Abi Curtis, with prose pieces from Naomi Booth, Jennifer Cooke, Rebecca Goss, Daisy Hildyard, Caleb Klaces and Malcolm Taylor, and poems from Liz Berry, Rachel Bower, Tommy Brad, Janine Bradbury, Ruth Charnock, Abi Curtis, Paige Davis, Gail McConnell, Elizabeth Hogarth, Alex McRae Dimsdale, Sandra Simonds and Sylvie Simonds.
Praise for Blood and Cord
‘Many kinds of parenthood are presented in this superb new collection of poems and stories. Mothers and fathers convey the spectrum of ways in which the self is remade by parenthood, the ‘complete subjugation’ of this task – bodily, mentally, spiritually – tearing apart the boundaries of love for which new language is required. Thankfully, the writers herein are more than up to this otherwise monumental task. New and experienced parents alike will find solace and resonance in this wonderful book.’ – Carolyn Jess-Cooke‘Blood and Cord brings a multiplicity of voices together to explore and celebrate the diverse experiences of parenthood. From the raw bodily sensations of baby rearing to the immanence of beauty in the everyday, this anthology captures it all.’ – Rym Kechcha for Lucy
‘It’s rare to find an anthology where every writer represented repays the effort of reading; this is one.’ -Billy Mills, Elliptical Movements
