Before I met her (and Jen!) at a writing workshop, I was a fan of Ariel Gore. When I was pregnant, I bought copies of Hip Mama at the checkout of our local co-op, usually with Brain, Child or Mothering or Bust. I read her edited story collection, Breeder, which taught me more than I wanted to know about pin worms and made me think that maybe it was possible to be unconventional and a good parent. I loved — love — the idea of having baskets of old magazines lying around so the girls can find them, read them, and learn ideas that I think are pretty great without it being all “HERE IS WHAT I, YOUR MOM, THINK ABOUT LIFE, SEX, MOTHERING, and BODIES.” My Mom’s old copies of Our Bodies, Ourselves and other hippie women’s health books totally informed me in a powerful way. I was saddened when Mothering went all-digital because I wouldn’t have those circulating in our house, sparking conversations, being stashed away in beds, adding to the print culture of our little domestic lovenest.
I’m a huge digital fan. I love blogs. I love chatting. I love drawing on my iPad. But print matters. Print is soft and beautiful and you can hide it. You can pass it around. You can dogear and write on it. I need print in my house. Print lives.
Ariel is relaunching Hip Mama as an awesome, wonderful, open-hearted, feminist parenting magazine. She’s broadening its original audience and mission to include rad dads, and generally expanding its awesomeness in every way. Check out this mission statement:
We’ve regrouped to establish a sustainable plan to move forward and to bloom. IN PRINT. Teen Mom NYC blogger Gloria Malone, political editor Victoria Law, and Rad Dad Tomas Moniz are just a few of the visionaries on board to relaunch Hip Mama.
In the first four issues of the new Hip Mama, we’ll bring you expanded lifestyle coverage including…
• Creativity Bootcamp: Songwriter Amani Malaika on Getting Back Into Your Creative Groove
• Airstreams, Sailboats, and Tiny Houses: Living Small with a Family
• Not Now, I’m Working on My Children’s Book: New Yorker Cartoonist Shannon Wheeler Teaches You to Draw Even With Kids Crawling Across the Table (Hint: It involves a lot of coffee)
• Sushi for Superheroes: New Study Shows that Wearing Costumes in the Kitchen Makes for Better Dinners!
• School Lunch Revolutions–Organics Aren’t Just for Rich Kids Anymore
• A Queer Argument Against Gay Marriage
• Radical Cupcakes with Inga Muscio*
• Concrete Ways to Help Families in Social Justice Movements
• Nomadic Teen Moms With Superpowers
• And in every issue, AT LEAST ONE PIE.
Ariel has a modest Kickstarter campaign that’s nearly fully funded, and for a mere $20 you can sub to the first year of the new magazine. There’s also a wonderful video with a lot of the featured writers, including my friend/doula/colleague Shell speaking from her hot tub. That’s 4 beautiful mags full of life’s promise to put in a slouchy wicker basket next to the easy chair for my eight year old to read in about 3 years’ time. If you worked an extra shift or just love getting magazines in the mail, you should kick some cash her way. They have an option to donate even $1, and you get stickers!!! COME ON!
* Jen and I are taking Inga Muscio’s online writing course this summer as well. There are some seats left. Sign up! It’s an online class about writing through tough times.
