* Mamaphiles #4 - "Raising Hell" *

The collaborative effort of thirty-four zine-making parents, this fourth issue of Mamaphiles takes on the wilder side of parenthood - from toddler-chasing to rabble-rousing. "Children are natural born hell-raisers," wrote Henry Miller. And as Mamaphiles' writers can attest, raising them can be an act of revolution.

"Raising Hell" features stories of an activist family imprisoned in Israel and racial injustice in the U.S., as well as essays on the more quiet, inner struggles of parents striving to seek balance and creative expression, heal, make a family and support each other.

Mamaphiles was initially conceived in 2004 as a cooperative effort of the zine-writing mothers who congregated online at Mamaphonic.com. Thirty-three contributors took on the theme of "Birth" and the resulting 132-page zine proved so successful that two more issues were produced, Mamaphiles #2 - "Cutting the Cord" and Mamaphiles #3 - "Coming Home."

Now, with "Raising Hell," the Mamaphiles writers - each of whom produces a zine individually - have pooled their talent again to testify that while child-rearing may be hellish sometimes, it's the most rewarding hell out there.

Contributors: Trula Breckenridge (Positive Emergence); Mariah Boone (Lone Star Ma); Charlie (The Nose Knows); Sky Cosby (Pirate Papa : An Anarcho-Green Journal of D(o)-I(t)-Y(ourself) Parenting); Robin Dutton-Cookston (Apron Strings...) ; Kate Haas (Miranda); Heather Jackson (madiburl and mindfuck revolutions); Rahula Janowski (Joybringer); Katie Kaput (Night Cookies); Victoria Law (Tenacious); Corbin Lewars (Reality Mom); China Martens (The Future Generation); Noemi Martinez (Hermana, Resist); Lamesha Melton (Cocoa/Puss Zine); Jessica Mills (My Mother Wears Combat Boots); Tomas Moniz (Rad Dad); Angela Morrill (I Always Wanted to Learn Tai Chi); connie murillo (The Peep Show); Coleen Murphy (Once Upon a Photobooth / the Mama Calendar); Celia Perez (Roots & Wings); redguard (Absent Cause); Nic Ramirez-Riesen (LA DAMA ZINE); Laurel Ripple-Carpenter (CUNTastic!); Anna Rose; Brandon McClendon-Rose (VIVA LOVE); Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie (Mother Nature); Raye Tibbitts (Bad Mother Chronicles); Robert Trujillo (SS); Regina Walker (Recovering Me); Anna Westley(Habit); Mai'a Williams (Revolutionary Motherhood Zine); Christina-Marie Wright (Gonzo Parenting Zine). Cover art by: Rachel Galindo of Tenacious: Art & Writings by Women in Prison.

For ordering information, please see the front page.

last updated 2 july 2010