Origin of BreastMilk
Why the natal name?
A Note from the Editor
​I remember being in a state of deep despair and hopelessness when BreastMilk first revealed itself as an idea. I wanted to create a space where the raw, vulnerable, messy parts of humanity could bare their teeth. Most of all, I wanted submissions from people who did not necessarily identify as writers. BreastMilk is desperate to display the sacred source of art and creation that exists within every soul, regardless of day job or life experience. In a society overwhelmed by aggressive meritocracy, BreastMilk is an opportunity for conventional humans to have their Feminine sides valued, respected, and connected to by others.
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I stayed up for hours brainstorming a name for the space. Every attempt failed; searches repeatedly proved that each one had already been claimed by another magazine. I finally surrendered late that night with the determined knowing that I would wake up with the magazine's name in my head. Sure enough, the moment my eyes opened, I heard it loud, clear, and with immediate certainty: BreastMilk.
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Breast milk is the first thing humans consume when they exit the womb and enter planet Earth. No matter the circumstances of our births, the ethnicity of our mothers, or where in the world we come from, we are all nurtured by the same maternally sourced gold. BreastMilk Magazine is meant to offer that same kind of primal sustenance for the collective human soul. Whether you come to read or submit, I hope you leave feeling more connected to that mystical Something we all share, hot and heavy, beneath everything else.
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Sincerely,
Anna Lux​​​​​
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Meet the Editor
Anna Lux Petro's current vessel is twenty-four years old. She grew up in the cold, gray suburbs of Chicago before leaving to pursue a fully funded Biology degree at the University of Alabama. She now resides on the Carolina coast, working in childcare by day and as a poet and editor by night. Anna Lux is currently applying to MFA programs in poetry, which she hopes to use as a way to continue empowering the voices of others.
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Anna Lux Petro would love to say that she has been writing in a diary as long as she can remember, but it wasn't until she left for college that she discovered the carnal need to vomit onto a page. Since then, she has captured decapitated value systems, whirlwind romances, and episodes of consuming darkness. On nights when words feel frustrating and slippery, she returns to her love of doodling.
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Anna Lux has indeed published her own diary entries in BreastMilk. Funnily enough, she found that she preferred to keep them anonymous.
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You can find more of her work at annaluxpoetry.com.
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