Postpartum Production

"It's about history, it's about family lineage, and it's about what we bring into the world." - Remica Bingham-Risher

We continue our exploration of birth and creativity with Remica Bingham-Risher. Remica is the author of Conversion, which was winner of the Naomi Long Magit Poetry Award, What We Ask of Flesh, which was shortlisted for the Hurston Wright Award, and Starlight & Error, winner of the Diode Editions Book Award. Her first book of prose, Soul Culture: Black Poets, Books, and Questions that Grew Me Up was published by Beacon Press in 2022.

Her next book of poems, Room Swept Home, was published by Wesleyan in February 2024, which we spoke about in the podcast. This beautiful collection examines the murky waters of race, lineage, faith, mental health, women's rights, and the reckoning that inhabits the discrepancy between lived versus textbook history. She's currently the Director of Quality Enhancement Plan Initiatives at Old Dominion University, and she currently lives in Norfolk, Virginia with her husband and children.

In today’s conversation, Kaitlin and Remica discuss:

1. Room Swept Home and the research Remica conducted to build this work of archival research, as well as personal memoir and communal history that is infused in the book and her research
2. The ways in which she encountered birth in this collection of poetry 
3. How the narratives of childbirth through her own personal history have become such a compelling and fruitful space for her own exploration as a person, as a mother and as an artist

Discover Remica’s work here:

• https://www.remicabinghamrisher.com/
• @remicawriter

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com  

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Lauren Lapkus is an American actress and comedian known for portraying Susan Fisher in the Netflix comedy drama series Orange is the New Black. She played Jess in the HBO comedy drama series Crashing, she's appeared in the television series Are You There, Chelsea?, Hot in Cleveland, Clipped, The Big Bang Theory, and Good Girls, the films Jurassic World, The Unicorn, The Wrong Missy, and she played the voice of Lada in the animated comedy series, Harvey Girls Forever!  She also plays Joanna in the film Another Happy Day, a “postpartum depression comedy” directed by Nora Fiffer, a guest of the Postpartum Production Podcast back in Season 1. You can listen to that conversation here.

Lauren is also a prolific podcaster: she has appeared on the Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast, Improv4Humans, and her own podcast With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus, LAPTIME with Lauren Lapkus, Threedom, Raised by TV, and Newcomers.

In today’s laughter-filled conversation, Kaitlin and Lauren discuss:

1. The physical challenges of pregnancy and postpartum as an active comedian and actor
2. How experiencing motherhood firsthand influenced her acting, particularly her portrayal of Joanna in Another Happy Day 
3. How film sets and the industry at large have (and have not) shifted to provide healthier working conditions and schedules, particularly for parents 

Discover more of Lauren’s work here:

• @laurenlapkus 
• http://www.laurenlapkus.com/

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com  

Follow us on Instagram: @postpartumproductionpodcast

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We’re so excited to introduce listeners today to Amy Bornman: a poet, textile artist, and parent living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as well as the author of two books of poetry, There is a Future (Paraclete Press Poetry, 2020), Broken Waters (out now!), and co-author of How to Sew Clothes (Abrams Books, 2023). Amy has literally made creative pieces out of the experiences of the births of her two children, and she's even birthed the small press Imaginary Lake, which supports her creative production. 

Amy's work focuses on themes of domesticity, caregiving, confession, and spirituality. In this conversation, we deeply appreciated Amy's perspective on art making and the domestic space, and how art making can be a radical act, especially when it sits outside the capitalist context.

In today’s conversation, Kaitlin and Amy discuss:

1. The importance of sharing diverse birth stories, including those that are not safe, supported, or desired, to provide a full range of human experience 
2. Art making in the domestic space, finding success with small press and zine publishing, and writing without traditional publishing barriers
3. Amy’s two birth experiences, and how the the experience of birthing her first child helped her step into power as a mother with her second

More of Amy’s work:

• amybornman.com 
• amybornman.substack.com 
• @amybornman / @allwellworkshop / @imaginary_lake

Referenced in the Podcast:

• Louise Erdrich’s The Blue Jay’s Dance
• Adrienne Rich's Of Woman Born
• Amelia Greenhall Anemone

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com  

Follow us on Instagram: @postpartumproductionpodcast

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

In this episode, we sit with contemporary artist Ashley January to discuss her powerful paintings inspired by maternal experiences. Ashley delves into themes of preeclampsia, premature birth, and birth trauma, shining a spotlight on the Black maternal mortality and morbidity crisis in America. Her art is not just a reflection of her personal journey but also an act of activism, aiming to bring awareness and change to the maternal health landscape.

In this episode, Kaitlin and Ashley discuss:

1. Art and Maternal Experience: Ashley shares how her journey through motherhood, including facing preeclampsia and premature birth, has profoundly influenced her artwork.
2. The Black Maternal Health Crisis: We explore the critical issues of Black maternal mortality and morbidity in America, and how Ashley's art addresses and brings visibility to these challenges.
3. Art in Clinical Spaces: The impact of Ashley’s work being featured in clinical settings like Tufts University's Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice and Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago.

More about Ashley:

• Ashley's Website - Explore Ashley’s portfolio and learn more about her upcoming exhibitions.
• Instagram: @ashleyjanart
• Intrauterine Growth Restriction: The painting of Ashley's Kaitlin has in her home
• Women's Caucus for Art - Learn about the organization that awarded Ashley the Emerging Artist Award.
• Tufts University's Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice - Discover the initiatives and Ashley's contributions to this center
• Expo Chicago - Find out more about the art expo where Ashley showcased her new series.
• Cynthia Corbett Gallery - Check out the gallery representing Ashley’s work

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com  

Follow us on Instagram: @postpartumproductionpodcast

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

“The bulk of my work comes out of this place of the explosive female body and really meditating on that and looking at that. The body has always been my deepest interest, and painting the figure, and that has been the case for many, many years.  And so when I started to think about family building and my reproductive health and my fertility, just even the inkling of those thoughts, the work started to become infused with these images of motherhood of the reproductive female body. Because it represents so much: there's so much richness there for me in terms of  how we talk about the female body, in terms of its messiness and its inability to be contained.” - Alexandra Carter

Welcome back to Postpartum Production! We are thrilled to begin Season 3 of the podcast, and to be in community with you once again. Season 3 further examines the intersection of Birth and Creativity, and what better person to start the season than Alexandra Carter, an artist focused on fertility, maternity, and the monstrous feminine, and who, when we held this conversation, was just weeks from giving birth to her second child.

Alexandra’s recent solo exhibitions include “Monstrous Mothers” at the Middle Room in Los Angeles, “Bumps and Grinds” at Rogers Gallery in Las Vegas, “A Sense of Heat in Her Brain” at Luna Aeneas Gallery in Los Angeles, “Berries for BowBow” at Radiant Space in Los Angeles and “Tether,” which was a duo show at Oolong Gallery in Solana Beach, California.

In our first episode, Alexandra and Kaitlin discuss:

• Alexandra’s journey as an artist and how that has tandemed with her motherhood journey
• How she is preparing for her second birth, both as a human and as an artist, and how it compares to that of her highly-medicalized first pregnancy
• The meaning of the “explosive female body,” a subject much of Alexandra’s work focuses on

More about Alexandra:

• Website: https://www.alexandra-carter.com/
• Instagram @alexandracarterstudio 

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com  

Follow us on Instagram: @postpartumproductionpodcast

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

Hello, dear listener, and welcome back to Postpartum Production! We are thrilled to begin Season 3 of the podcast, and to be in community with you once again. 

Before we kick off Season 3, Kaitlin checks in to provide an update on the podcast, a peek into what we’ll be exploring together this season (more on that in a moment!), and some heartfelt reflections on the never-ending challenges of balancing creative work, caregiving, and commerce. How can we create art while paying the bills? How do we play the long game of sustainability, while also living in the present? How does one do it “all” and, as importantly, when? 

These are questions caregivers, creatives, and those of us just trying to make it work in a capitalist society wrestle with daily. While answers may not be simple, we at Postpartum Production hope to provide you with the tools, inspiration, and support you need as we continue this ongoing pursuit of meaning, impact, and value together as a community. 

So, what’s in store for Season 3? Get ready for fascinating, powerful conversations as we speak with artists across genres and mediums- painters, poets, comics, and creatives of all kinds- about the intersection of Birth and Creativity. We delve into the profound connection between the body, the birthing process and the artistic journey, exploring how the transformative experiences of birth inspire and shape creative expression. We can't wait to share these conversations with you.

Lastly, we would love to hear from you: the questions you’re struggling to answer, the tough topics you feel deserve discussion and debate, or just simply what you are experiencing in this moment. Reach out to us any time via our Website, Instagram, or Substack. 

We appreciate your support and look forward to continuing our journey together this season.

Referenced in today’s episode:

• An interview with Rick Rubin: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jan/10/the-creative-act-a-way-of-being-by-rick-rubin-review-thoughts-of-the-bearded-beat-master
• New Yorker Article on mentorship and Early/Late blooming artists: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/10/20/late-bloomers-malcolm-gladwell

For regular updates:

• Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com 
• Follow us on Instagram: @postpartumproductionpodcast 
• Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com 

In this episode, we look back at a few of the themes that emerged from our conversations this season and take stock of what this means now; looking back and also looking forward to the work we all have to continue in our examination of this intersection of caregiving and creativity.

We’re incredibly grateful that our guests could take the time to sit with Kaitlin, and for their honesty and vulnerability, which really make this podcast the open and engaging space that it is, and hopefully is for you as listeners.

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Follow us on Instagram:@postpartumproductionpodcast

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

Drop us a line via email: [email protected]

We are capping off our season of conversations with Ben Berman, the author of three books of poems and the new collection of humorous and literary essays, Writing While Parenting. Ben ​has ​won ​the ​Peace ​Corps ​Award ​for ​the ​Best ​Book ​of ​Poetry, ​has ​twice ​been ​shortlisted ​for ​the ​Massachusetts ​Book ​Awards, ​and ​has ​received ​awards ​from ​the ​Massachusetts ​Cultural ​Council, ​New ​England ​Poetry ​Club, ​and ​Somerville ​Arts ​Council. ​He's ​been ​teaching ​for ​25 ​years ​and ​currently ​teaches ​creative ​writing ​classes ​at ​Brookline ​High ​School. ​He ​lives ​in ​the ​Boston ​area ​with ​his ​wife ​and ​two ​daughters.

Kaitlin’s conversation with Ben explores the intersection of creativity and parenting through the lens of his latest book, and how they can coexist.

Ben and Kaitlin talk about:

• Why ​Ben ​felt compelled to write ​a ​book ​in ​and ​around ​the ​subject ​matter ​of ​writing ​while ​parenting.
• The idea that disorder can be a catalyst for creativity and how being a parent as well as working with kids has shifted Ben’s perspective on creativity.
• The challenge of balancing creative engagement with parenting responsibilities – how we can make our children a part of our creative journey instead of seeing them as obstacles.
• The delicate balance between being fully present in the moment as a parent and detaching to think about it from a creative perspective and how Ben merges the two aspects through his writing.
• The ​relationship ​between ​form ​and ​content, and how ​the ​structures ​that ​we ​create ​allow ​for ​freedom ​or ​inhibit ​it.

More about Ben:

Website: www.ben-berman.com/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ben.berman.7927/

Pre-order Writing While Parenting here:https://bookshop.org/a/86159/9781773491110

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com 

Follow us on Instagram: @postpartumproductionpodcast

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

"I think about rage as containing information. I talk about anger as a weathervane pointing you towards the places that need attention and healing. So I think rage can be useful in that way of teaching you what needs to change in your life. And it might be that you need more support or you need to not be in charge of bedtime every night or whatever.

Rage is also useful in giving you the energy to create change larger than just your little home." ~ Minna Dubin

We are really excited to share with you this illuminating and enlightening conversation with Minna Dubin. Kaitlin and Minna had the great privilege to meet by way of the Artist Residency in Motherhood group, which she's mentioned on the podcast in the past.

Minna is the author of the book, Mom Rage: The Everyday Crisis of Modern Motherhood, which is out from Seal Press the very week that this episode is released this September, 2023.

Her writing has been featured in the New York Times, Salon, Parents, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Romper, The Forward, Hobart, MUTHA Magazine, and Literary Mama. As a leading feminist voice on mom rage, Minna has appeared on MSNBC, Good Morning America, The Tamron Hall Show, NBC10 Boston, and NPR.

“Modern motherhood is a setup for anger.” ~ Minna Dubin

She lives in Berkeley, California with her husband, her two children, and no pets, she clarifies because, as she says, enough is enough.

Minna and Kaitlin talk about:

• How Minna came to writing, particularly how she came to the writing structure she uses in writing Mom Rage.
• The different facets of mom rage, and how rage can look different for each individual.
• The individual and the institution and how the interplay of both come to highlight where rage and power structures intersect.
• How Minna finds community now that she has a clear understanding of those power structures and how they impact her experience of motherhood
• How family structures in other cultures and parts of the world differ, and how the individual experiences of motherhood are impacted when you have these structures.
• Parenting neurodivergent children and how the lack of societal support structures for them interplays with mom rage.

More about Minna:

Website: www.minnadubin.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/minnadubin

Instagram: www.instagram.com/minnadubin

Pre-order your copy of Mom Rage here: https://bookshop.org/a/86159/9781541601307

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Follow us on Instagram: @postpartumproductionpodcast

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com

“The way that we think about art, about care work or housework or maintenance labor is interconnected in the sense that these are spheres of society that are often deemed unproductive. Obviously, first and foremost, we need to resist that notion because it's the most important work that we do. I do think of writing as a kind of care work in that sense. It's like a tending. It's tending to our narratives and our cultural understandings of things.

I think it's very easy, especially in the motherhood/parenting sphere, to get wrapped up in our demands and the policies that we need –and absolutely, we need all of that. But there's a reason that that's not happening. I think it's because we need a bigger shift of understanding. We need new language for articulating the way in which women's bodies are exploited and used from a young age through and beyond parenthood.” - Amanda Montei

We’re so grateful to share this conversation with Amanda Montei whose book Touched Out: Motherhood, Misogyny, Consent, and Control lands on bookshelves on September 12th, 2023. Kaitlin and Amanda have had the pleasure of being connected through Amanda’s writing workshops and also through the Artist Residency in Motherhood community where they've staged their own collective residencies alongside other mother-writer-artists in the Bay Area.

Amanda is also the author of Two Memoirs, published by Jaded Ibis Press, and a collection of prose, The Failure Age, as well as co-author of Dinner Poems. Her writing and criticism explore literary and cultural representations of gender, work, care, sexuality, feminism, creativity, and the body. If you're eager to connect with her, she also teaches creative writing at organizations such as Catapult, Corporeal Writing, Hugo House, Writing Workshops, and Write or Die.

Amanda and Kaitlin talk about:

• Amanda’s trajectory as a writer, where it intersects with her postpartum experience, and how this postpartum experience impacted her creative work, including her latest book.
• Exploring the question of the representation of home and our bodies, particularly women's bodies in connection to the home.
• How writing, art, and care work can be a social justice practice, and how narrative can disrupt the false narratives that we unconsciously carry around.
• How Amanda is able to practice and sustain creativity as a practice of connection.

More about Amanda:

Website: https://www.amandamontei.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.montei/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amontei/

Pre-order Amanda’s book Touched Out: Motherhood, Misogyny, Consent, and Control: https://bookshop.org/a/86159/9780807013274

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

For regular updates:

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

Follow us on Instagram: @postpartumproductionpodcast

Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com