Athena's Head
On Writing, Parenting, and Pop-Mom Culture
Martha Nichols
- Location
- Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Birthday
- March 18
- Title
- Editor in Chief
- Company
- Talking Writing
- Bio
- I run Talking Writing, an online literary magazine. I'm also a contributing editor at the Women's Review of Books and a freelance journalist in the Boston area. I write about women's issues, books, youth services, and adoption. As the mother of a son born in Vietnam, I look for fresh perspectives on the seemingly random pieces of our lives.
I cross-post most OS entries on my website Athena's Head. I am not paid a cent for any reviews or product references—these opinions are mine alone.
MY RECENT POSTS
- Why Travel?
May 21, 2012 12:32PM - I Confess: I Hate Shopping
Malls
February 28, 2012 05:48PM - Be Careful When You Say
"Exotic"
February 18, 2012 08:51PM - The Trouble with Affluent Kids
February 05, 2012 06:28AM - Note to Caitlin: Joan Didion
Is Not Your BFF
January 13, 2012 07:44AM
MY RECENT COMMENTS
- “Fusun: I look forward to
reading about what it's like
for you
to go back to
that…”
May 25, 2012 09:23AM - “Cynthia, that's a
beautiful quote about
pilgrimage. Yes. At
some
level, the exper…”
May 23, 2012 10:00AM - “Big, big question,
Jessica. I want to say yes and
no, but
that's a cop out. I
thi…”
May 22, 2012 01:46PM - “Hey, thanks for such
quick responses! I agree that
travel
away from the
familiar…”
May 21, 2012 02:47PM - “I love this, David,
because I've always loved
Toni
Morrison—and in the
curr…”
May 17, 2012 10:16AM
Martha Nichols's Links
- Martha's Adoption Writing
- Seven-Year-Olds Don't Get Star Trek
- International Adoption: Why I Don't Believe in Fate
- How I Became an Anime Fan--Not a Racebender
- Adoption Fearmongers Take Over
- Is My Son Lucky?
- Imagining My Family: Which One Is Real?
- The Adoption Post I Should Have Written
- Haitian Adoptions: Why Talking About Race Matters
- Adoption "Truths": Be Careful What You Say in Print
- Athena's Head Links
- Martha's website
- Martha on Twitter: Athenas_Head
- Martha's Zines
- Talking Writing: The Magazine
May 25, 2012 09:23AM
“Fusun: I look forward to reading about what it's like for you to go back to that particular place. Please write about it! KC: I know what you mean abou…”
About: Why Travel?
“Fusun: I look forward to reading about what it's like for you to go back to that particular place. Please write about it! KC: I know what you mean abou…”
About: Why Travel?
May 23, 2012 10:00AM
“Cynthia, that's a beautiful quote about pilgrimage. Yes. At some level, the experience of traveling--or, in my case, of living in a new place--does fee…”
About: Why Travel?
“Cynthia, that's a beautiful quote about pilgrimage. Yes. At some level, the experience of traveling--or, in my case, of living in a new place--does fee…”
About: Why Travel?
May 22, 2012 01:46PM
“Big, big question, Jessica. I want to say yes and no, but that's a cop out. I think you're right that authors should control who gets free copies. Amaz…”
About: Our writing is worth every penny you pay ... or ... is it in fact, worthless?
“Big, big question, Jessica. I want to say yes and no, but that's a cop out. I think you're right that authors should control who gets free copies. Amaz…”
About: Our writing is worth every penny you pay ... or ... is it in fact, worthless?
May 21, 2012 02:47PM
“Hey, thanks for such quick responses! I agree that travel away from the familiar helps pinpoint what's real, or at least one's personal truth. And yet,…”
About: Why Travel?
“Hey, thanks for such quick responses! I agree that travel away from the familiar helps pinpoint what's real, or at least one's personal truth. And yet,…”
About: Why Travel?
May 17, 2012 10:16AM
“I love this, David, because I've always loved Toni Morrison—and in the current ranks of Franzen et al. she gets way too much short shrift. I've n…”
About: Our Real Great American Novelist
“I love this, David, because I've always loved Toni Morrison—and in the current ranks of Franzen et al. she gets way too much short shrift. I've n…”
About: Our Real Great American Novelist
March 05, 2012 08:13PM
“Thanks, Hayley. I've been in since the '70s. It's tough organizing against the deep pockets of conservatism, though (look what's happened to the word &…”
About: A New Feminist Movement? Will You Help?
“Thanks, Hayley. I've been in since the '70s. It's tough organizing against the deep pockets of conservatism, though (look what's happened to the word &…”
About: A New Feminist Movement? Will You Help?
March 04, 2012 08:41PM
“Jeff, yes. The upscale shopping district of Singapore raises all sorts of questions for me about what people are willing to trade off for comfort, secu…”
About: I Confess: I Hate Shopping Malls
“Jeff, yes. The upscale shopping district of Singapore raises all sorts of questions for me about what people are willing to trade off for comfort, secu…”
About: I Confess: I Hate Shopping Malls
March 01, 2012 08:05PM
“Malls can certainly be havens from extreme weather, cold or hot. Singapore is always hot and steamy, and they are havens for that reason. But they're a…”
About: I Confess: I Hate Shopping Malls
“Malls can certainly be havens from extreme weather, cold or hot. Singapore is always hot and steamy, and they are havens for that reason. But they're a…”
About: I Confess: I Hate Shopping Malls
February 29, 2012 10:38PM
“neutron: Yes, American malls seem very empty. One of the the things that struck me first about the malls here is how crowded they are, especially on we…”
About: I Confess: I Hate Shopping Malls
“neutron: Yes, American malls seem very empty. One of the the things that struck me first about the malls here is how crowded they are, especially on we…”
About: I Confess: I Hate Shopping Malls
February 29, 2012 10:19PM
“vzn -- Insatiable desire! Yes, I think that's what malls are addressing and not satisfying in an endless round. Funny thing about feng shui: It's often…”
About: I Confess: I Hate Shopping Malls
“vzn -- Insatiable desire! Yes, I think that's what malls are addressing and not satisfying in an endless round. Funny thing about feng shui: It's often…”
About: I Confess: I Hate Shopping Malls
February 19, 2012 08:19AM
“The best thing about traveling is those inversions. (And getting away from a a New England winter.) It's a challenge sometimes, but I really am fascina…”
About: Be Careful When You Say "Exotic"
“The best thing about traveling is those inversions. (And getting away from a a New England winter.) It's a challenge sometimes, but I really am fascina…”
About: Be Careful When You Say "Exotic"
February 18, 2012 11:12PM
“Hey, I'm tickled that this got an EP, and I'm sorry to be weighing in so late. Jeremiah is one of our contributing writers at Talking Writing, where we…”
About: Confronting the killer inside me; a romance recounted
“Hey, I'm tickled that this got an EP, and I'm sorry to be weighing in so late. Jeremiah is one of our contributing writers at Talking Writing, where we…”
About: Confronting the killer inside me; a romance recounted
February 18, 2012 10:03PM
“I'm not only glad you're back, I loved this weaving of your father and Stephen King and your own obsession with grisly tales. I've never been able to…”
About: Stephen King and my dad (Part 1)
“I'm not only glad you're back, I loved this weaving of your father and Stephen King and your own obsession with grisly tales. I've never been able to…”
About: Stephen King and my dad (Part 1)
February 18, 2012 09:55PM
“Yes, it is funny, bluestocking, and I go through ups and downs with my Kindle. I'm happy to have it here in Singapore, rather than boxes of heavy books…”
About: Why Reading Novels on My Kindle Scares Me
“Yes, it is funny, bluestocking, and I go through ups and downs with my Kindle. I'm happy to have it here in Singapore, rather than boxes of heavy books…”
About: Why Reading Novels on My Kindle Scares Me
February 07, 2012 06:24PM
“Kerry, I'm also really, really pleased to hear about Salon's focus on original reporting by freelancers and longer features. In some ways, I think it's…”
About: Hit record
“Kerry, I'm also really, really pleased to hear about Salon's focus on original reporting by freelancers and longer features. In some ways, I think it's…”
About: Hit record
February 07, 2012 06:32AM
“Thanks, all. It really is about setting boundaries--whether it's a 'tache at 13 or a cell phone--or in my son's case, the fact that we insisted he cut…”
About: The Trouble with Affluent Kids
“Thanks, all. It really is about setting boundaries--whether it's a 'tache at 13 or a cell phone--or in my son's case, the fact that we insisted he cut…”
About: The Trouble with Affluent Kids
February 06, 2012 04:52PM
“Wendyo: I like your take on this. I know I'm not just struggling with my own affluence; I'm struggling with the contradiction international adoption po…”
About: The Trouble with Affluent Kids
“Wendyo: I like your take on this. I know I'm not just struggling with my own affluence; I'm struggling with the contradiction international adoption po…”
About: The Trouble with Affluent Kids
February 05, 2012 10:27PM
“Jeremiah: Indeed. This is about my own struggle with affluence, especially because my own childhood would never be described that way. I'm pretty sure…”
About: The Trouble with Affluent Kids
“Jeremiah: Indeed. This is about my own struggle with affluence, especially because my own childhood would never be described that way. I'm pretty sure…”
About: The Trouble with Affluent Kids
January 17, 2012 04:20PM
“Pam, thanks so much for reminding me of May Sarton's work. I plan to do more writing about the papering over of grief and aging, and that's a very good…”
About: Note to Caitlin: Joan Didion Is Not Your BFF
“Pam, thanks so much for reminding me of May Sarton's work. I plan to do more writing about the papering over of grief and aging, and that's a very good…”
About: Note to Caitlin: Joan Didion Is Not Your BFF
January 16, 2012 07:52PM
“John, yes, Didion had a kind of wry distance on the counterculture that was sometimes problematic. But, she is the real deal. As for the NY Review of B…”
About: Note to Caitlin: Joan Didion Is Not Your BFF
“John, yes, Didion had a kind of wry distance on the counterculture that was sometimes problematic. But, she is the real deal. As for the NY Review of B…”
About: Note to Caitlin: Joan Didion Is Not Your BFF
January 16, 2012 10:10AM
“Thanks, all for checking in, because you've made me understand even more why that Flanagan piece made me so queasy. Yes, it was very passive aggressive…”
About: Note to Caitlin: Joan Didion Is Not Your BFF
“Thanks, all for checking in, because you've made me understand even more why that Flanagan piece made me so queasy. Yes, it was very passive aggressive…”
About: Note to Caitlin: Joan Didion Is Not Your BFF
January 13, 2012 06:45PM
“Flanagan is an equal-opportunity offender, isn't she? Hallie, I appreciate you going into detail about the Garden in the Schools program. I won't claim…”
About: Note to Caitlin: Joan Didion Is Not Your BFF
“Flanagan is an equal-opportunity offender, isn't she? Hallie, I appreciate you going into detail about the Garden in the Schools program. I won't claim…”
About: Note to Caitlin: Joan Didion Is Not Your BFF
January 13, 2012 04:22PM
“Nick, you may be right that Didion is on our collective minds, and not just because of Flanagan's article. Maybe it's a foreshadowing, just a frisson,…”
About: Note to Caitlin: Joan Didion Is Not Your BFF
“Nick, you may be right that Didion is on our collective minds, and not just because of Flanagan's article. Maybe it's a foreshadowing, just a frisson,…”
About: Note to Caitlin: Joan Didion Is Not Your BFF
Martha Nichols's Favorites
STATHI STATHI
nilesite
Anna Voy
Cynthia Neale
David Biddle
KC Redding-GonzalezUpdates
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The First Apartment: A Rite of Passage
-
The Vagabond in the White House
-
News about Israel - May 20, 2012
-
A Day in the Life of Tink
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My Code Year, Things Being More Equal Than Others
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OPEN CALL - Two Historical Events You'd Love To Witness
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VIDEO: MISS NINE'S ANIMATION FOR "DATING COPS" BY THE INTELLIGENCE
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History Channel Looks at an Infamous Feud
Salon.com