Linea Nigra: An Essay on Pregnancy and Earthquakes

By Jazmina Barrera

Book Overview

"Essayist Jazmina Barrera takes that physical line [the linea nigra] and writes about and (metaphorically) beyond it, packing her narrative memoir full of carefully considered and exquisitely worded musings on motherhood....the multilayered, deeply felt work that her life experience and obvious talent have combined to produce is eminently worthy of acclaim." --Vogue (The Best Books of 2022 So Far)

An intimate exploration of motherhood, Linea Nigra approaches the worries and joys of childbearing from a diverse range of inspirations and traditions, from Louise Bourgeois to Ursula K. Le Guin to the indigenous Nahua model Luz Jim?nez. Part memoir and part manifesto, Barrera's singular insights, delivered in candid prose, clarify motherhood while also cherishing the mysteries of the body.

Writing through her first pregnancy, birthing, breastfeeding, and young motherhood, Barrera embraces the subject fully, making lucid connections between maternity, earthquakes, lunar eclipses, and creative labor. Inspired by the author's own mother's painting practice, Linea Nigra concludes with an impassioned call: childbearing is art, and art is childbearing.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1949641309
• ISBN13: 9781949641301
• Release Date: May 2022
• Publisher: Two Lines Press
• Length: 184 Pages
• Weight: 0.81 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.0" x 8.1"