Mamarama

by Evelyn McDonnell

Copyright 2007 by Evelyn McDonnell. All Rights Reserved.

Categories:  Contemporary  Memoir  Motherhood  Parenting  Women

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Description

Any parent may ask, "What's the connection between my youthful self and the old fart my kids think I am?" The question is especially relevant for Evelyn McDonnell, a Janie-come-lately breeder looking back on her bohemian, feminist, punk-rock glory days and wondering, is the new me still the old me? The answer is yes: A baby changes everything but your self. In fact, though she may no longer write fanzines or engage in political performance art, McDonnell's revolutionary spirit is strengthened by having an added investment in the future—her toddler son and teen stepdaughters. As she makes the transformation from Riot Grrrl to Rebel Mom, this music journalist gives an eyewitness account of the cultural movements of the '90s, from alternative rock and third-wave feminism to hip-hop, raves, poetry, and Rent. Through this pop-culture lens she confronts the conventions and pressures of modern motherhood. Part of an emerging generation of cultural commentators and memoirists, McDonnell adds an original, humorous, and edgy voice to the ongoing literature of motherhood.

Praise for Mamarama:

"This is the exhilarating story of one woman's quest for coolness: as a rebel, a rock writer, a New York hipster, a Miami mom. If you've ever loved music, questioned authority, or wanted to be a pirate instead of a princess, Mamarama is essential reading."
—Julie Phillips, author of James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon

"In Mamarama, Evelyn McDonnell delivers a bouncing bawling, sprawling portrait of her generation. As a rock critic, she has a finely-tuned ear for the riffs and refrains of evolving popular culture: the backlash, irony, and cross-pollination from which we each learn to make sense of the world. But then McDonnell trains these critical skills on the vicissitudes of her own life. The result is moving and surprising—a familiar lick performed in an entirely revolutionary way."
—Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

"This is a punk-rock love letter to rocker chicks, the f-word, wayward teens, Midwest lugs, hip-hop, and, finally, a little man who awakened Evelyn McDonnell's dormant mom genes and touched her revolution grrrl heart. We thank her journalistic ass for keeping notes all these years."
—Lynn Breedlove, author of Godspeed

"A heartfelt treatise on punk motherhood, Mamarama is a great name for a band—a generation of riotmoms transforming parenting roles like they once stormed the mosh pit. A new feminist-womanist breed of breeders is emerging, the great goddesses are rejoicing, and our mothers' gardens are blooming."
—Donna Gaines, Ph.D., author of A Misfit's Manifesto and Teenage Wasteland

About the Author

Evelyn McDonnell is currently the pop-culture critic for the Miami Herald. She co-edited the anthology Rock She Wrote and has written and edited three other books. A former senior editor at the Village Voice, her work has appeared in Ms., Rolling Stone, Interview, Spin, Billboard, the New York Times, Elle, and Travel & Leisure. She lives with her husband, son, and two stepdaughters in Miami Beach.

Extended Copyright Information

Copyright 2007 by Evelyn McDonnell.

All rights reserved.

Previously published Da Capo Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Da Capo Press was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in initial capital letters.

Cover design by Georgie Leibman.
Cover photograph by Joanna Michaelides/Nonstock/Jupiterimages.

Opening Lines (Experimental)

To Mom, Mama, and mothers.
And to Karlie, Kenda, and Cole.
I would have taken a bullet for Michael.
That was the fantasy: I'm in Los Angeles, land of my birth and of Michael Jackson's superstardom. Usually, the setting is an amusement park (as a seven-year-old who had been transplanted to a ...

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