Coming in May 2008 from Seal Press: The Maternal Is Political: Women Writers at the Intersection of Motherhood and Social Change. Edited by Shari MacDonald Strong, and with a foreword by Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, the book includes thirty powerful, hard-hitting literary essays by women who are striving to make the world a better place for children and families—both their own and other women’s—in this country and globally.

From the book’s description:

Each contributor tackles complex issues facing mothers and society today. Whether it’s a mother teaching her children to live ecologically responsible lives, a mother struggling to get out of poverty while raising her kids, a mother’s response to her child being sent to Iraq, or a mother voting for the first time, each writer forges the link, the crucial relationship, between the personal (life with family) and the political (life in the world) to give voice to, and thus empower, other women to realize and seize their collective political clout as mothers. Written by and for mothers, The Maternal Is Political is crafted to help motivate us to discover, appreciate, and use with greater effectiveness our tremendously powerful (and too often underutilized) political votes and voices to create positive social change.

(Thanks to Helaine Olen , who has an essay in it that I can’t wait to read, for the heads up.)