Letter from the Editor, May 2002
It sometimes seems that if we are bereaved, then there is some "holiday" or another each month that has been contrived just to torture us. Spring has sprung and now we face Mother's Day and Father's Day. If your children are dead, it seems like torture. If your parents are dead, it seems like torture. And yet the consumerism that drives these "holidays" is with us at every pace in this American culture. My way of battling that driving torture is to offer a forum here at KotaPress where we make room for the bereaved, where your voice is heard, where your loved ones are remembered, where you are still a parent even if your children are dead. Many people scoff at my long term battle on this bereaved ground, but I know that even if there is only one person who is heard, then this fight for his or her voice is worth it.
This issue we offer alternate views of Mother's Day, of The Other Side, of memorials, of what it means to have one bereaved parent reach out to other bereaved parents. If you must endure a Mother's Day where all the women will be getting presents and cards while a bereft mom will be left out, then check out our Suggested Reading List. If you must play the consumer game, then get a thoughtful and helpful, caring gift for that bereft mother so she is not isolated in her pain during that horrid "holiday."
And if you are a professional who is suppose to be a care giver to bereaved parents, please see the featured article about the MISS Passages Conference, and get yourself there in two weeks to learn more about your trade. If you are a bereaved parent, you, too, will want to come to this conference and learn how to ask for what you need from your care givers, how to extend your experience to others to help in compassionate care, to find comfort for wherever you might be in your grief.
Check it all out...feel free to be in touch with comments and thoughts. And do whatever you need to do to get thru the dreaded "holidays"...Miracles to you!
This page is dedicated to Dakota
Born and died March 11, 1999
Author Biography
Kara lives on Vashon Island which is a much more
awesome place than she ever imagined it would be. She is a poet, bookmaker,
wife, teacher, mother to a stillborn son, facilitator, receptionist, founder,
struggling p.t.barnum, turtle faithful, editor, artist, and a million
other things that will prevent you from putting her in any one particular
label box! Kara teaches through local art centers, artists in the schools
programs, KotaPress and independently. To find out more about her, see:
http://www.KotaPress.com/kara/karajones.htm
And her class Expanding Poetry is now available in an online format from CourseBridge.com where you can register today at:
http://www.coursebridge.com/html/courses/writing/cbep01.asp
