“…the isolated parenting that women do in this society is not the best way to raise children, or treat women who mother.”

bell hooks, Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center, 1984.

Beginning in October 2024, Callie’s hosts Brood Reading Group. Each month, through the collective unpacking of selected texts, the group will consider what it means to spawn the next generation–practically, politically, and philosophically. Organized for mothers, these meetings seek to act as a refuge for thoughts and practicalities regarding all types of broods; regardless of their stage of “matrescence,” mothers and their kin are welcome.

Participants should plan to read the text in advance–with the understanding that life can interrupt even the best of intentions–and to bring their thoughts, reflections, and interpretations to share with the group at Callie’s.

Dates and Titles:
October 2024: Blood Child by Octavia E. Butler
November 2024: The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson
December 2024: Space Crone by Ursula K. Le Guin
January 2025: Plot by Claudia Rankine
February 2025: Matrescence by Lucy Jones
March 2025: Bosses by Ghislaine Leung
April 2025: Mothers by Jacqueline Rose
May 2025: Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami
June 2025: Of Women Born by Adrienne Rich
August 2025: Haircuts by Children by Darren O’Donnell
September 2025: Dawn by Octavia Butler
October 2025: How to Mend by Iman Mersal

Please note: The use of the word ‘mother’ in the context of Brood Reading Group is not limited by gender or the capacities of giving birth, but inhabits a pluralism and agency in the role.

In collaboration with Callie’s, Brood Reading Group was initiated by Penny Rafferty, Eloïse Bonneviot, and Judit Förster as part of a broader research and development network associated with Omsk Social Club and their own artistic and domestic practices.