With Child

For mothers and others interested in the lunatic and lyrical elements of the absolutely normal chaos of childbearing and childrearing, these poems chronicle the tender and sometimes terrifying moments of those large-as-life events. The territory ranges from the "Seven Dwarves" stages of pregnancy (Cranky, Hungry, Sleepy, Bashful, Doc, Sexy and Lumpy) to "Maternity Annoyances A-Z" to Big Questions: Is this invasion or salvation?/Our land grown larger and more circumscribed/ Where now the steep, the sharp, the vicious lurk/...Anyone who has spent time with babies and young children will recognize the themes captured in these poems.

Cathie Desjardins is a journalist, teacher and literacy specialist. She has taught at the elementary, middle school, high school, college and graduate school levels as well as teaching writing courses at adult education centers for many years. Her feature articles and reviews have appeared in publications including the Boston Globe, North Shore Weeklies, the Christian Science Monitor, the Providence Journal Bulletin, and Yankee magazine. Her older son Tristan and her daughter Megan live in New York City. She lives in Arlington, MA with husband David and son Dylan.