Mother Tongue Issue #7

In this issue we confront the before, the after and the in between; the surreal confusion of the present, the friendly ghosts of the past and the utter unknown of the near future. We reminisce about arty orgies with Hillary Kelly and we follow the signs to a Spiritualist epicenter on an occult road trip with Janet Manley. Nightbitch author Rachel Yoder thinks about time: its passing, its limitations, its inevitability; and Suleika Jaouad and her mother, Anne Francey, dive headfirst into mortality, maternity, and the perils of doing drugs (not the fun ones) in the bathroom. Art critic Jori Finkel offers notes on cultivating an out of body perspective—with help from land art icon Isabel Albuquerque—and Jennifer Romolini lets us in on her double life (and why solo travel makes her horny). Rachel Sklar profiles the inexhaustible Jessica Valenti, whose pro-choice crusade aims to save America from itself. And we head to DC before the election to find humanity in the digital abyss with counterrorism expert and Moonshot founder Vidhya Ramalingam. If that wasn't enough, we also contemplate witches, jazzercise and going gray; periods, sacrificial goats and Man Ray, and finally: explore the extremely sapphic undertones of American Girl dolls. (Once you see it, it’s impossible to unsee!)

This issue also features work and words by: Ana Maria Caballero, Rachel Cope, Dione Davis, Amie Dicke, Cynthia Edorh, Charlie Engman, Hannah Felt Garner, Gem Fletcher, Maria-Ines Gul, Sarah Hahn, Laura McLaws Helms, Victoria Hely-Hutchinson, Thessaly LaForce, Nicole Graev Lipson, Suchitra Mattai, Hannah Michelle Provisor, Joanna Rakoff, Isabel Reitemeyer, Naila Ruechel, Vanessa Saba, Katherine Sheehan, Sunny Shokrae, Rebecca Storm and Fiorella Valdesolo.