Ingrid Andersson, author of JORDEMODER: POEMS OF A MIDWIFE, in Conversation with Miranda Welch

“A midwife is in the thick of it, she sees it all,” wrote the author of CALL THE MIDWIFE, Jennifer Worth. Ingrid Andersson’s book, JORDEMODER: POEMS OF A MIDWIFE, is rich with real life. It represents midwifing in its broadest sense, from releasing a newborn’s stuck shoulders or catching a baby in the caul to Socratic questioning around body autonomy, social justice and climate crisis. The poems are layered and bi-cultural, rooted in contrasts between America and Sweden, as well as between colonial and ecological ways of caring for each other and the earth. Through love, humor, art and aging, JORDEMODER is a collection of midwifed hope.

Ingrid Andersson has practiced as a home-birth nurse midwife for over 20 years. She studied poetry and literature in Swedish, German, French and English, as well as anthropology, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, before mixing that fertile ground with the art and science of midwifery. Ingrid’s poetry has been nominated for Pushcart Prizes and Best of the Net and has appeared in Ars Medica, Eastern Iowa Review, Midwest Review, Minerva Rising, Wisconsin People & Ideas and elsewhere. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her husband, son, dogs, chickens and bees. JORDEMODER: POEMS OF A MIDWIFE is her debut collection.

Miranda Welch, LM, CPM, MA is a Licensed Midwife with a home birth practice in Madison, WI. She has a Master’s degree in Gender and Women’s Studies from University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studied feminist poetry, zines and blogs. A life-long activist, community-builder and learner, Miranda lives in Madison with her wife and fur babies.