A01=Rebekah Denison Hewitt
ambivalence
Author_Rebekah Denison Hewitt
Category=DC
Category=DCF
Category=FXD
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_poetry
family history
feminism
forthcoming
motherhood
myths
news
parenting
poetry
pregnancy
religion
Product details
- ISBN 9780299356248
- Weight: 454g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 30 Jun 2026
- Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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It is rare to find a collection so grounded in the manifold meanings of motherhood—in all its anxiety, ambivalence, and joy. From the aches and fears of pregnancy, through the pain and relief of childbirth, to the perplexing questions and worries of parenting, Rebekah Denison Hewitt grapples with what it is to make a human (and to sometimes lose one), “the baby a creature / in bloom / the mother / a lotus eater.”
Closing with the counsel “Do not be afraid. / Rinse your heart out. Proceed,” these poems give readers many reasons to fear—health issues, genetic deformities, postpartum depression, gun violence, and car accidents. Yet always lurking underneath are light, optimism, and a stubborn willingness to soldier on. Celebrating the stories, myths, and personal histories that shape the experience of modern motherhood, Creature in Bloom expands the conversation around what it means to be a mother.
Closing with the counsel “Do not be afraid. / Rinse your heart out. Proceed,” these poems give readers many reasons to fear—health issues, genetic deformities, postpartum depression, gun violence, and car accidents. Yet always lurking underneath are light, optimism, and a stubborn willingness to soldier on. Celebrating the stories, myths, and personal histories that shape the experience of modern motherhood, Creature in Bloom expands the conversation around what it means to be a mother.
Rebekah Denison Hewitt is a poet, librarian, and educator. She holds an MFA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she was a Martha Meier Renk Distinguished Graduate Fellow. Her work has appeared in publications such as Narrative, The Rumpus, Poetry Northwest, and Bellevue Literary Review. She lives in Wisconsin with her family.
