mamabration! Sunday, May 10, 2009 6:00pm - 8:00pm Bluestockings bookstore 172 Allen Street between Stanton and Rivington New York, NY Free! after the mother's day brunches, flowers and platitudes, get down with these irreverent and thought-provoking mamas as they read and perform in celebration of motherhood: Christen Clifford, Ayun Halliday, Tomasia Kastner, Sharon Kwik, Victoria Law and Jennifer Silverman. Christen Clifford is a writer and performer in New York. She has written for Nerve, Salon and the Huffington Post. She is a storyteller for the Moth and her solo show BabyLove ran for three months off Broadway and was a critic’s pick in Time Out and New York Magazine. She is married to writer McKenzie Wark and is the proud mother of Felix and Vera. More at www.christenclifford.com, and twitter.com/cd_clifford. Ayun Halliday is the author of four self-mocking memoirs, No Touch Monkey! And Other Travel Lessons Learned Too Late, The Big Rumpus, Job Hopper and Dirty Sugar Cookies: Culinary Observations, Questionable Taste, and a brand spanking new children's book, Always Lots of Heinies at the Zoo. In her spare time, she is the Chief Primatologist & sole staff member of the quarterly zine, The East Village Inky, as well as BUST magazine's Mother Superior columnist. Ayun lives in Brooklyn with her husband, playwright Greg Kotis and their increasingly well-documented children. Dare to be Heinie and visit www.AyunHalliday.com! Born in Portimao, raised in Rockland, and residing in Brooklyn, Tomasia Kastner emerged from New York City's spoken word renaissance, where she shared the stage with Saul Williams. A captivating lyricist, Tomasia has brought audiences to their feet at such esteemed venues as the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Hammerstein Ballroom. Tomasia opened up for Gil Scott-Heron, has performed with the likes of Me'Shell N'DegeOcello who called her "…too funky..." and has shared the stage with Mos Def who exclaimed "She's really good!" as well as Mums the Schemer (Oz) who declared, "She's like a female Rakim!" Tomasia recently released an album entitled Death of the Fresh with DJ Stef-Eye as their latest incarnation FISHEYE. As Sharon Kwik has a severe case of writers' block when it comes to composing bios, her four year old son, Macèo, has written one for her: "I am a nice woman. I work, I play, and I play with my son." Victoria Law is a writer, mother, and photographer. Since 2002, she has worked with women incarcerated nationwide to produce Tenacious: Art and Writings from Women in Prison. Her writings have appeared in Hip Mama, off our backs, make/shift magazine and Left Turn. Her new book, Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women is the culmination of 8 years of research, writing and listening to the stories of women incarcerated nationwide. Jennifer Silverman is a recovering journalist, mama of two rambunctious sons, agitator and co-editor of the forthcoming anthology My Baby Rides the Short Bus (PM Press, 2009). Her writing about mothering her son with autism has appeared in Hip Mama and off our backs, and the ‘zine version of Short Bus, among others. She resides in Queens, NY.