Mothers and Daughters: A Poetry Celebration [Hardcover]

June Cotner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 10, 2001

Celebrate the life passages shared only between mothers and daughters in this uniquely moving collection.
 
Mothers and Daughters reveals the full breadth and depth of the mother-daughter bond as only poetry can. From pregnancy to toddlerhood, adolescence to leaving home, grandmotherhood and beyond, and every passage in between, this collection captures the voices of mothers and daughters as they write about the most moving moments of their times together.
           
Honest, inspiring, joyful, and reflective, the full range of women’s voices has been captured here: the inexplicable joy of a mother holding her baby girl, a mom witnessing the first grown-up tears of her adolescent girl, a mother watching her daughter walk down the aisle, a ten-year-old trying to explain to her mom why she hates broccoli, and a daughter saying good-bye to her mother in her new dorm room. All the poetry, selected by bestselling author June Cotner, is accessible and beautifully crafted, alternating poems that will move any mother or daughter to tears with others that will make her laugh out loud—and all of which will deepen the reader’s understanding and appreciation of this unique bond as no self-help book ever could.
 
The perfect gift for mother or daughter, this is a book that women will want to revisit and share for years to come.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

June Cotner, who previously collected Graces and Bedside Prayers, here brings together Mothers and Daughters as versified by poets like Kim Addonizio and Kelly Cherry. The point-of-sale-sized book takes readers "from pregnancy to toddlerhood, adolescence to leaving home, grandmotherhood and beyond."

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"...in Mothers and Daughers, I found grit, realism, fine writing, challenging ideas...Cotner maintains a good balance." -- Barbara Lloyd McMichael,

"The poets relate to readers like friends...There are award-winning and lesser-known writers with amazing insight and poignancy." -- StorkNet review

"A touching, tender compendium of fresh voices on the relationship that so often makes us feel speechless with awe, rage, and love. A lovely gift for mothers, daughters and grandmothers and especially those who are all three!" --Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Author of Getting Over Getting Older, and co-founder of Ms. magazine

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Crown; 1st edition (April 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609606891
• ISBN-13: 978-0609606896
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 0.9 x 6.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #829,185 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

June Cotner is a publishing consultant and the author of 26 books, including the bestselling Graces and Dog Blessings. Collectively, her books have sold more than 850,000 copies and have earned praise in many national publications including USA Today, Better Homes & Gardens, Woman's Day, and Family Circle. She has appeared on the television programs "Northwest Afternoon" and "AM Northwest." June is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley. Through Book Proposal Services, she evaluates nonfiction book proposals and analyzes concepts for books. See "Consulting" at www.JuneCotner.com. Her books have been published by major houses including Random House, HarperCollins, and Hachette. She has also enjoyed working with mid-size publishers such as Andrews McMeel, Chronicle Books, and New World Library.

Quotation: "Creativity, for me, involves connections. As an anthologist, I love finding the perfect quote for a specific book. As a publishing consultant, I greatly enjoy helping clients create the best possible proposals to secure excellent advances."

Fun tidbit: June has always loved playing with creative ideas, including starting the first "dormie" powder puff football game at U.C. Berkeley, I ETA PI, that competed against sorority teams and went on to become a football dynasty.

Visit her website at www.JuneCotner.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Beauty of the Tie That Binds, April 16, 2001

By 

Arlene G. Levine (Forest Hills, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mothers and Daughters: A Poetry Celebration (Hardcover)

In her powerful anthology MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS: A POETRY CELEBRATION June Cotner gives her readers a heart opening look into our first and probably most defining relationship. Mothers, daughters, grandparents (and sons and husbands who want to gain an intimate understanding of the women in their lives) will be enlightened and entertained by this thoughtful, generous collection.

The poems flow as naturally as the time periods they describe: pregnancy, babyhood,birth, childhood, adolescence, leaving home, adulthood and so on into such meaningful territory as partings, reflections and inspiration. No aspect of the mother-daughter bond is neglected, no emotion untouched. Incredible attention is paid to pacing and placement encouraging the reader to move seamlessly from one piece to the next, difficult to resist the pull of the following chapter even as daily obligations would call us away.

Reading these poems is a gift to oneself; the treasure of insights so artfully crafted into literature links us with the humanity of others while it illuminates our own experiences in revealing ways. So many times the people closest to us are the ones we have the hardest time sharing our authentic feelings with and so much of importance goes unsaid. By all means buy this book for your mother,daughter, or maybe, most importantly, yourself.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mothers and Daughters: A poetry Celebration, April 24, 2001

By 

Deborah Ham (Fort Collins, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mothers and Daughters: A Poetry Celebration (Hardcover)

My heart's joy and ecstasy, it's wrenching pain and bittersweet memories have been captured in ink and put before the world. Expect to be transported through a kaleidoscope of moods, feelings and memories. Your mother, your daughter, your experiences as a daughter and as a mother - all will accompany you on this poignantly presented journey to the soul of womanhood. June Cotner has created an absolutely lovely book for women - sweet without being overly sentimental.