Five years go, a Madison woman created a spoken word event to celebrate motherhood. That event, called Listen To Your Mother, drew such interest that it spawned events in cities around the country, and has also resulted in a book, bringing together some of the most compelling essays from the series.
"We look for the beautiful unifying thread of motherhood. Under the umbrella of motherhood, we can all understand each other so much better," says coordinator Alexandra Rosas.
This weekend, Milwaukee will host its third Listen to Your Mother event, featuring 11 essayists at Alverno College's Pitman Theater. Five years into the show, the event has not fundamentally changed, and that's a good thing according to Rosas.
"I think it stayed true to the roots because our growth is slow...and as we go slowly people are understanding the concept of it, which is just sharing our lives and building community through seeing what life is like for somebody else," she says. "I think that's what everyone wants - is this connection."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=H7ZG4dL6zRE
Essayist Anna Stone reads an excerpt from her piece, "Mom, Coyotes, and Alzheimers" which you can hear in its entirety at the performance this weekend:
