Mother Tongue Issue 6; Spring/Summer 2024

In this issue Mother Tongue discusses the coexistence of seemingly incompatible things—humor and trauma with filmmaker Lulu Wang and author Priyanka Mattoo; rejecting pregnancy and embracing motherhood with writer Samantha Mann, and attempting to solve the mysteries of self with no real clues to go on with poet Maggie Smith. They revel in the confidence of the Real Housewives with illustrator Jess Rotter and get weird about candidates’ wives with Sarah Hutto; and they talk empathy and non-binary thinking in a post-October 7th reality with Moh Mahdara, Rabbi Sharon Brous and BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors. They forgo categorization with artist Hayv Kahraman; rally for sisterhood with Salamishah and Scheherazade Tillet; and look to the right and left with Shannon Watts. They try on chore coats and grief with Jessie Gaynor; resist hoarding with Victoria Hely Hutchinson; examine the symmetry of their breasts with Caitlin Scholl; and last, but quite obviously not least: They get lusty about midlife with our cover star Miranda July, in a sizzling profile written by Hillary Kelly. Oh, you thought they were done? This issue also features work and words by Michelle Arcila, Lesly Deschler Canossi, Paula Codoner, Alex Free, Alma Haser, Lucy Jones, Nanse Kawashima, Emma Larsson, Zoe Lescaze, Nadiya Nacorda, Maggie Shannon, Ashley Simpo, Akilah Townsend and Anaïs Wade.