<div>Stunning reflections chronicling a journey both spiritual and physical by May Sarton, one of America&rsquo;s most beloved poets In celebration of her fiftieth birthday, May Sarton embarked on a pilgrimage around the world. Traveling through Japan, India, and Greece, she captured her spiritual discoveries in this vivid collection of poetry. Arresting images and meditations on the differences between East and West are rendered with the exceptional clarity of an accomplished artist. Winner of the Emily Clark Balch Prize. </div>

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A Private Mythology

<div>Finalist for the National Book Award: May Sarton at her evocative and contemplative best The title poem of this entrancing collection compares love to salt for its ability both to dissolve and to crystallize &ldquo;into a presence.&rdquo; At once philosophical and fiercely corporeal, this work presents emotion as a sensory experience. Written with Sarton&rsquo;s characteristic concision, these deeply felt poems will delight readers.</div>

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In Time Like Air

<div>Poetic meditations on solitude by acclaimed author May Sarton This collection borrows its title from Sir Walter Raleigh, who wrote, &ldquo;Love is a durable fire / In the mind ever burning.&rdquo; It is a fitting sentiment for a collection on solitude, wherein the author finds herself full of emotion even in seclusion. The first poem, &ldquo;Gestalt at Sixty,&rdquo; finds the author reflecting on the joy and loneliness of being solitary. A Durable Fire is a transformative work by a masterful poet.</div>

A Durable Fire

<div>May Sarton presents a collection of socially charged yet universal poems One of the many gems of this volume is &ldquo;The Invocation to Kali,&rdquo; which explores a dark and destructive femininity. Sarton writes of &ldquo;Crude power that forges a balance / Between hate and love,&rdquo; finding an amalgam of dark and light within a single act. This graceful and nuanced work forges powerful connections between timeless ideas and specific moments in history. </div>

A Grain of Mustard Seed

<div>May Sarton&rsquo;s poetic celebrations of the American landscape Written in Santa Fe, New Mexico, May Sarton&rsquo;s third collection of poems takes inspiration from the land, the light, and the palette of the American Southwest. With archaeological precision, Sarton uncovers American history and heredity. &ldquo;Plain grandeur escapes definition,&rdquo; begins one poem. But Sarton&rsquo;s America is alive with history and is continually redefined by its own settings and mythology.</div>

The Lion and the Rose

<div>In May Sarton&rsquo;s seventeenth and final collection of poetry, the writer reflects on life, aging, and mortality Coming into Eighty presents a poet&rsquo;s look at age. Herein, Sarton gives readers a glimpse into her quotidian tasks, her memories, her losses, and her triumphs. The volume explores topics ranging from the war in Iraq to the struggle of taking a cat to the vet. Dark and immediate, this work catalogues both the tedium and the splendor of life with equal wit and beauty. Winner of the Levinson Prize.</div>

Coming into Eighty

<div>A comprehensive volume collecting May Sarton&rsquo;s poetry from over sixty years of work This collection spanning six decades exposes the charm and clarity of Sarton&rsquo;s poetry to the fullest. Arranged in chronological order, it follows the transformation of her writing through a wide range of poetic forms and styles. Her poetry meditates on topics including the American landscape, aging, nature, the act of creating art, and self-study. This compendium from one of America&rsquo;s most beloved poets will enthrall readers. </div>

Collected Poems, 1930–1993

<div>A striking collection of short poems from acclaimed writer May Sarton After decades of writing flowing lyric verse, May Sarton&rsquo;s style turned to short bursts of poetry. Likening poetry to gardening, she writes, &ldquo;Muse, pour strength into my pruning wrist / That I may cut the way toward open space.&rdquo; These condensed poems are rife with exuberant impressions of nature and of love. Included are two of Sarton&rsquo;s most acclaimed poems, &ldquo;Old Lovers at the Ballet&rdquo; and &ldquo;Of the Muse.&rdquo;</div>

Halfway to Silence

<div>After her lover of thirty years dies, a Boston woman opens a bookstore for her neighborhood, an endeavor that forces her to confront her past while she rebuilds her future Over the course of their thirty-year relationship, Vicky and Harriet fell into a predictable cadence: Vicky took the lead while Harriet was content to follow. When Vicky dies, Harriet is lost and in search of an identity that was subsumed by that of her partner for three decades. Lying awake in bed one evening, Harriet has an idea&mdash;a women&rsquo;s bookstore for the residents of her blue-collar Boston neighborhood, where people can gather, talk, and buy great books. Using her inheritance from Vicky, Harriet begins her next great adventure, opening not only the store but also herself to whatever may come. But while some in the community thrill at the idea of her bookstore, others attack&mdash;using graffiti and hate mail to express their prejudice against what they perceive to be an invasion of their neighborhood by &ldquo;filthy gay men and lesbians.&rdquo; Against this newfound scrutiny and intolerance, Harriet must come to terms not only with the world her privilege had insulated her from, but with what it means to go without fear of labels or discrimination in pursuit of a fuller life. This ebook features an extended biography of May Sarton. </div>

The Education of Harriet Hatfield

<div>In this poignant novel by a New York Times&ndash;bestselling author, a dying woman looks back on the great relationships of her life. When she learns that she is dying, Laura Spelman vows to spend her final year only on what matters most. As she quickly realizes, this means coming to terms with her most fruitful and important bonds&mdash;her &ldquo;real connections&rdquo;&mdash;all of which have been with women. From her tempestuous daughter and beloved aunt, to a promising lesbian writer she is mentoring and a cherished friend from her youth, Laura revisits her most significant relationships, each fraught with its own history and meaning. Insightful and witty, A Reckoning is an unforgettable portrait of one woman&rsquo;s journey to seize life before it ends, and of the power in embracing the fact that the most challenging interactions are often the most rewarding. This ebook features an extended biography of May Sarton.</div>

A Reckoning

<div>This captivating book by May Sarton rejoices in friendship and family In A World of Light, renowned poet and novelist May Sarton renders unforgettable portraits of the friends she considers family&mdash;and the family she looks upon as friends. From her father, famed science historian George Sarton, she learns that work is &ldquo;of the first importance.&rdquo; Her mother, Mabel, an artist in her own right, is her &ldquo;dearest friend.&rdquo; Sarton also introduces us to fellow creative minds Elizabeth Bowen and Louise Brogan, Swiss vigneron Marc Turian, a New Hampshire painter named Quig, and many others. Sarton crosses oceans and continents as she chronicles the enduring connections she has made and how each has enriched her life. Tender and passionate, candid and evocative, A World of Light is about what it means to be an artist&mdash;and a human. This ebook features an extended biography of May Sarton. </div>

A World of Light

<div>The New York Times&ndash;bestselling author of At Seventy returns with a memoir about advancing age, including her experience with a series of strokes. In this poignant and fearless account, Sarton chronicles the struggles of life at eighty-two. She juxtaposes the quotidian details of life&mdash;battling a leaky roof, sharing an afternoon nap with her cat, the joy of buying a new mattress&mdash;with lyrical musings about work, celebrity, devoted friends, and the limitations wrought by the frailties of age. She creates poetry out of everyday existence, whether bemoaning a lack of recognition by the literary establishment or the devastation wrought by a series of strokes. Incapacitated by illness, Sarton relies on friends for the little things she always took for granted. As she becomes more and more aware of &ldquo;what holds life together in a workable whole,&rdquo; she takes solace in flowers and chocolate and reading letters from devoted fans. This journal takes us into the heart and mind of an extraordinary artist and woman, and is a must-read for Sarton devotees and anyone facing the reality of growing older. This ebook features an extended biography of May Sarton.</div>

At Eighty-Two

<div>Sarton&rsquo;s most important novel tells the story of a poet in her seventies, whose life is retold episodically during an interview with two writers from a literary magazine Hilary Stevens&rsquo;s prolific career includes a provocative novel that shot her into the public consciousness years ago, and an oeuvre of poetry that more recently has consigned her to near-obscurity. Now in the twilight of her life, Hilary, who is both a feminist and a lesbian, is receiving renewed attention for an upcoming collection of poems, one that has brought two young reporters to her Cape Cod home. As Hilary prepares for the conversation, she recalls formative moments both large and small. She then embarks on the interview itself&mdash;a witty and intelligent discussion of her life, work, and romantic relationships with men and women. After the journalists have left, Hilary helps a visiting male friend with his anxiety over being gay and imparts wisdom about channeling his own creative passions. This ebook features an extended biography of May Sarton. </div>

Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing

<div>In May Sarton&rsquo;s debut novel, a mysterious and beloved Belgian poet finds new life when a young Englishman ventures to meet her Published under the pseudonym Jeanne Latour, Doro&rsquo;s poetry inspired a generation. Her teaching of great literature and philosophy also fired up the imaginations of her young pupils. Throughout her adult life, Doro&rsquo;s most important relationships have been those with Claire and Annette, fellow teachers who have nicknamed themselves the Little Owls and with whom she shares a close-knit friendship. Despite her full life, Doro can&rsquo;t help but feel that her first sixty-three years have been but a prelude to something yet to come. The heartbreak of young poet Mark Taylor has stifled his art and well-being. In love with an older, unavailable married woman, Mark goes in search of Jean Latour, whose poetry, he believes, could be his salvation. But Mark knows nothing of the enigmatic writer&rsquo;s true identity, and it is in their unexpected meeting that both poets begin to find a renewed and transformative sense of self. This ebook features an extended biography of May Sarton. </div>

The Single Hound

<div>Bestselling author &ldquo;May Sarton has never been better than she is in this beautiful, harrowing novel about being old, unwanted, yet refusing to give up&rdquo; (The Boston Globe). After seventy-six-year-old Caro Spencer suffers a heart attack, her family sends her to a private retirement home to wait out the rest of her days. Her memory growing fuzzy, Caro decides to keep a journal to document the daily goings-on&mdash;her feelings of confinement and boredom; her distrust of the home&rsquo;s owner, Harriet Hatfield, and her daughter, Rose; her pity for the more incapacitated residents; her resentment of her brother, John, for leaving her alone. The journal entries describe not only her frustrations, but also small moments of beauty&mdash;found in a welcome visit from her minister, or in watching a bird in the garden. But as she writes, Caro grows increasingly sensitive to the casual atrocities of retirement-home life. Even as she acknowledges her mind is beginning to fail, she is determined to fight back against the injustices foisted upon the home&rsquo;s occupants. This ebook features an extended biography of May Sarton.</div>

As We Are Now

<div>The poet and author&rsquo;s &ldquo;beautiful . . . wise and warm&rdquo; journal of time spent in her New Hampshire home alone with her garden, her books, the seasons, and herself (Eugenia Thornton, Cleveland Plain Dealer). &ldquo;Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is richness of self.&rdquo; &mdash;May Sarton May Sarton&rsquo;s parrot chatters away as Sarton looks out the window at the rain and contemplates returning to her &ldquo;real&rdquo; life&mdash;not friends, not even love, but writing. In her bravest and most revealing memoir, Sarton casts her keenly observant eye on both the interior and exterior worlds. She shares insights about everyday life in the quiet New Hampshire village of Nelson, the desire for friends, and need for solitude&mdash;both an exhilarating and terrifying state. She likens writing to &ldquo;cracking open the inner world again,&rdquo; which sometimes plunges her into depression. She confesses her fears, her disappointments, her unresolved angers. Sarton&rsquo;s garden is her great, abiding joy, sustaining her through seasons of psychic and emotional pain. Journal of a Solitude is a moving and profound meditation on creativity, oneness with nature, and the courage it takes to be alone. Both uplifting and cathartic, it sweeps us along on Sarton&rsquo;s pilgrimage inward. This ebook features an extended biography of May Sarton.</div>

Journal of a Solitude

<div>The author and poet&rsquo;s graceful elegy about life, love, work, and growing older: &ldquo;The most moving and the most thoughtful [of her] journal-memoirs&rdquo; (The Plain Dealer, Cleveland). When May Sarton uprooted her life after fifteen years in the refurbished New Hampshire house with the garden she tended so lovingly, she relied solely on instinct. And something told her it was time to move on. Accompanied by her wild cat, Bramble, and Tamas, a Shetland shepherd puppy&mdash;the first dog she ever owned&mdash;Sarton embarked on the next chapter of her life. The house she chose by the sea in the Maine village of York is completely isolated except during the summer months. Surrounded by nothing but endless ocean, woods, and vast skies, Sarton experiences a rare sense of peace. She creates a new garden and fears that in this tranquil state, she may never write again. But in her solitude&mdash;with its occasional interruptions for trips away and visits from friends&mdash;she realizes that creativity is constantly renewing itself. This journal offers fascinating insight into a remarkable woman and the work and friendships that form the twin pillars of her life. This ebook features an extended biography of May Sarton.</div>

The House by the Sea

<div>The author&rsquo;s tribute to the 18th-century New England farmhouse she called home: &ldquo;[A] tender and often poignant book by a woman of many insights&rdquo; (The New York Times Book Review). In Plant Dreaming Deep, Sarton shares an intensely personal account of transforming a house into a home. She begins with an introduction to the enchanting village of Nelson, where she first meets her house. Sarton finds she must &ldquo;dream the house alive&rdquo; inside herself before taking the major step of signing the deed. She paints the walls white in order to catch the light and searches for the precise shade of yellow for the kitchen floor. She discovers peace and beauty in solitude, whether she is toiling in the garden or writing at her desk. This is a loving, beautifully crafted memoir illuminated by themes of friendship, love, nature, and the struggles of the creative life. This ebook features an extended biography of May Sarton.</div>

Plant Dreaming Deep

<div>The poetic tale of a fleeting love affair In her sixty years in literature, May Sarton has taken her readers through all of her emotions and pushed us to explore new places within ourselves. But her feelings are never more raw or exposed than in Letters from Maine. The rugged coast provides a stark background for Sarton&rsquo;s images of a tragically brief and newfound love. She describes the willingness to give anything and devote everything to a new love, as well as the despair at the memory of what is left over. As Sarton grew older, time became an increasingly prominent factor in her life, but as Letters from Maine shows, it is never too late to love. </div>

Letters from Maine

<div>A strong-willed and emotional collection hidden under a well-groomed landscape of words With her debut collection of poems, Encounter in April, May Sarton made an incredible splash in the world of poetry. Her work is impossible to imitate: a mix of stately verse and depth of emotion that lurks beneath every line, creating a tantalizing, magnetically charged distance between reader and poet. With Inner Landscape, Sarton beckons us forth while eluding easy understanding, in a volume that brilliantly walks the line between enticing and satisfying. </div>

Inner Landscape

<div>The comprehensive collection detailing the career of a twentieth-century master In her prolific six-decade career, May Sarton was as at home crafting a novel as she was writing a memoir. However, it was in poetry that Sarton&rsquo;s feelings were laid bare. She was a writer of immense creativity and strength, and created a back catalog of poetry that could rival those of any of her contemporaries. In Selected Poems of May Sarton, a collection from her first forty years of writing, many of the author&rsquo;s classic themes are on display: There are her meditations on solitude, featuring the breathtaking &ldquo;Gestalt at Sixty&rdquo;; there is her beautifully written tribute to literature in &ldquo;My Sisters, O My Sisters&rdquo;; and there is a rumination on affairs of the heart in an excerpt from the sonnet collection &ldquo;A Divorce of Lovers.&rdquo; Sarton was a true literary force, with the ability to speak to readers of all genders, persuasions, and ages, and Selected Poems of May Sarton demonstrates that power perfectly. </div>

Selected Poems of May Sarton

<div>The debut work of a literary legend May Sarton&rsquo;s career spanned sixty years and included novels, poetry, memoirs, and even children&rsquo;s books, but it was poetry that provided the world&rsquo;s first look at her wondrous talent. Encounter in April is a fitting starting point for readers wishing to familiarize themselves with one of the twentieth century&rsquo;s most lyrical and eloquent authors. In this anthology, Sarton describes womanhood devastatingly and unforgettably, deftly matching serene imagery with powerful emotion. Her sonnets are to be savored. Encounter in April is a thesis statement for a lengthy and profound career, and Sarton&rsquo;s talent is readily evident from the beginning. </div>

Encounter in April

<div>A splendidly edited anthology of the greatest poems of one of America&rsquo;s finest writers From the very beginning of May Sarton&rsquo;s career, in her fiction, memoir, and poetry, her work has been touched by a deep sense of order. The careful structure of her work provides an elegant backdrop against which her emotions are free to unfold, rising up through the cracks and fissures of her poems&rsquo; architecture only to pass through and disappear like a summer thunderstorm. The author&rsquo;s search for reason, love of nature, and diverse passions are on full display in this masterful collection, illustrating why May Sarton is considered one of the twentieth century&rsquo;s finest literary minds. </div>

Collected Poems, 1930–1973

<div>A beautifully organized collection of a poet&rsquo;s works in homage to nature One of the primary themes of May Sarton&rsquo;s work, especially in the first few decades of her career as a poet, memoirist, and novelist, is a veneration for and desire to understand nature. This yearning is collected in Cloud, Stone, Sun, Vine, which comprises more than two decades of Sarton&rsquo;s impressive output. The anthology marks a turning point in Sarton&rsquo;s career as her meditations on being alone become more and more frequent, foreshadowing her famous memoir Journal of a Solitude. Featuring the classic sonnet collection &ldquo;A Divorce of Lovers,&rdquo; Cloud, Stone, Sun, Vine is not to be missed by any Sarton fan. </div>

Cloud, Stone, Sun, Vine

<div>A splendid collection from a true master It is often in solitude that a writer begins to understand herself. This becomes evident in The Land of Silence, May Sarton&rsquo;s collection of poems previously published in the New Yorker and Harper&rsquo;s Magazine, as Sarton searches for solitude and tries to understand the regrets and ecstasies associated with it. Images from these poems linger in the mind&rsquo;s eye: a bird, a dream. Sarton&rsquo;s verse feels real, yet it represents something more. Published in 1953, the year after Sarton won the Reynolds Lyric Award of the Poetry Society of America, The Land of Silence presents a poet at peak form. </div>

The Land of Silence

<div>May Sarton&rsquo;s exquisitely rendered tribute to her home state Over the course of her career, May Sarton wrote on a range of topics and places in both prose and poetry, and traveled across the world in search of new subjects. There is, however, one place that she always returned to in the end: Nelson, New Hampshire. Written in honor of the town&rsquo;s bicentennial, As Does New Hampshire follows the course of a year in this rural hamlet. Sarton gracefully describes the ever-present role of nature, which always reminds humans that their presence on earth is temporary. She conveys both the beauty and the difficulty of a New England winter, and the full bloom of spring and summer. Above all, though, As Does New Hampshire is a lasting tribute not only to Sarton&rsquo;s home, but to the greater concept of home found in the heart of every reader. </div>

As Does New Hampshire

<div>May Sarton&rsquo;s sharp exploration of how men and women love&mdash;and how they clash&mdash;as shown through one tempestuous relationship Ned Fraser has never seen himself as a husband. His distinguished job at a Boston bank has kept him satisfied while a string of failed love affairs has concerned him little. But no woman has ever affected him the way Anna Lindstrom does. A concert singer of immense charm and beauty, Anna is possessed of a vibrant presence that stands in stark contrast to Ned&rsquo;s diffidence. And yet despite herself, she can&rsquo;t help but be drawn to the persistent suitor who plies her with flowers. Their courtship is short and intense, and the spark that brought them together fuels not only their love, but also a needling undercurrent of volatility. Her passion and narcissism agitate him, while his tempered restraint bores her into resentment. Their opposing personalities lead to anger and conflict, and ultimately to a crossroads that will either tear their young marriage apart or weave it back together, stronger than ever. </div>

Anger

<div>Winner of the American Book Award: May Sarton&rsquo;s honest and engrossing journal of her seventieth year, spent living and working on the Maine coast. May Sarton&rsquo;s journals are a captivating look at a rich artistic life. In this, her ode to aging, she savors the daily pleasures of tending to her garden, caring for her dogs, and entertaining guests at her beloved Maine home by the sea. Her reminiscences are raw, and her observations are infused with the poetic candor for which Sarton&mdash;over the course of her decades-long career&mdash;became known. An enlightening glimpse into a time&mdash;the early 1980s&mdash;and an age, At Seventy is at once specific and universal, providing a unique window into septuagenarian life that readers of all generations will enjoy. At times mournful and at others hopeful, this is a beautiful memoir of the year in which Sarton, looking back on it all, could proclaim, &ldquo;I am more myself than I have ever been.&rdquo; </div>

At Seventy

<div>National Book Award Finalist: A couple returns to an Irish village after years away in this novel by the New York Times&ndash;bestselling author of As We Are Now. The Irish estate home Dene&rsquo;s Court has been empty for years&mdash;its icy visage, shuttered windows, and overgrown tennis court are a burden for its caretakers and a curiosity for the nearby townspeople. And so the announcement that Violet Dene Gordon and her husband, Charles, are on their way back from British Burma to settle in the long-dormant estate sends a ripple of excitement through the sleepy village. For Violet, Dene&rsquo;s Court stands as a monument to her childhood, but lingering doubts remain about whether she and Charles will be happy there. Adding complexity to the arrangement is the arrival of Violet&rsquo;s American niece, a college student named Sally who has been sent by her mother in an effort to put an ocean between the impetuous young woman and the object of her affection, an actor. Anxiety, tempers, and long-buried emotions flare as the estate&rsquo;s new residents search for a sense of belonging and peace between its hallowed and serene walls.</div>

A Shower of Summer Days

<div>&ldquo;May Sarton&rsquo;s provocative novel is about a wife who has outgrown her husband, and after twenty-seven years of marriage decides that she has had enough. . . . [Poppy] is altogether believable.&rdquo; &mdash;The Atlantic To their close friend Philip, Poppy and Reed Whitelaw&rsquo;s marriage appears stable and happy. Their ritual Sunday tennis matches and dinners are a highlight of his week, and the Whitelaws&rsquo; repartee is an object of wonder and admiration. But beneath the surface, the marriage has slowly been unraveling for years. An artist, Poppy feels the weight of time, calculating that she has twenty good years left for her work and little remaining tolerance for her diminishing marriage. And so, as newscasts about Vietnam and Watergate issue nightly warnings about the dangers of deceit and delusion, Poppy has decided to leave. The separation guts Philip, who finds that his investment in the affairs of his friends outweighs his investment in his own. The relationship between the three friends had often been riven by jealousy, and the cataclysm of the Whitelaws&rsquo; separation does little to lessen anxieties roiling beneath the surface. As those in the Whitelaws&rsquo; orbit struggle to adjust to their new reality, a world of buried feelings rise inevitably to the fore. </div>

Crucial Conversations

<div>May Sarton&rsquo;s powerful and profound novel of an extraordinary life, and of one woman&rsquo;s efforts to preserve the force and vitality of her experiences on the pages of a book For the second time in my life&mdash;and I am now seventy&mdash;I am embarking on an effort which may well come to nothing but which has possessed my mind, haunts, and will not let me sleep. From her opening statement, Cam, the narrator of The Magnificent Spinster, declares her grand intentions: to write a novel&mdash;a worthy and important one in celebration of her recently deceased friend and teacher, Jane Reid, whose dearth of family threatens the memory of her almost tangible greatness. And so she writes, re-creating Jane&rsquo;s childhood, adolescence, and years as a teacher&mdash;including the one in which Cam was her student. She writes of Jane&rsquo;s irrepressible spirit and the charming letters Jane penned about her adventures, and she recounts Jane&rsquo;s growing isolation as she aged, which, rather than softening her, only made her shine brighter. Raw, warm, and beautifully rendered, The Magnificent Spinster is a stunning achievement&mdash;part memoir, part epistolary recollection, and part novel within a novel about friendship, memory, and the power of a brilliant soul. </div>

The Magnificent Spinster

<div>Spending their first winter away from the city, an aging married couple finds renewed friendship and love in the New Hampshire hills Christina and Cornelius Chapman have spent their summers in Willard for years, shunning the city&rsquo;s hottest months in favor of New Hampshire&rsquo;s rocky, rolling hills. In Willard, Christina looks forward to spending time with Ellen, enjoying forest walks and the easy conversation that come with longstanding friendship. But while Christina and Cornelius move comfortably between country and city, Ellen and her husband, Nick, are bound to Willard&mdash;their working-class lives standing in stark contrast to the moneyed effortlessness of their friends. This summer, however, is different. Rather than moving back to the city once fall sets in, the Chapmans have decided to stay. Characters of all sorts populate the New England town, and through their first winter in Willard, narrated in part through Christina&rsquo;s journal entries, the friendship between Christina and Ellen deepens, as does the one between Christina and Cornelius. Beautifully written and warmly rendered, Kinds of Love is a heartfelt portrait of marriage, friendship, class, and aging set against a tranquil, small-town New Hampshire backdrop. </div>

Kinds of Love

<div>An affecting diary of one year&rsquo;s hardships and healing, by one of the twentieth century&rsquo;s most extraordinary memoirists For decades, readers have celebrated May Sarton&rsquo;s journals for their candid look at relationships, success and failure, communion with nature, and the curious stages of aging. In Recovering, Sarton focuses on her sixty-sixth year&mdash;one marked by the turmoil of a mastectomy, the end of a treasured relationship, and the loneliness that visits a life of chosen solitude. Each deeply felt entry in the journal, written between 1978 and 1979, is laced with poignancy and honesty as she grapples with a cold reception for her latest novel, the sad descent of a close friend into senility, and other struggles. Despite the trials of this one painful year, Sarton writes of her progression toward a hard-won renewal, achieved through good friendships, the levity provided by her cherished dog, and peaceful days in her garden. A candid account of Sarton&rsquo;s revival from personal darkness back into light, Recovering is another stunning entry in the author&rsquo;s irrepressible oeuvre. </div>

Recovering

<div>In the hallowed halls of one of New England&rsquo;s most prestigious colleges, a young woman finds new and unexpected life as professor while a scandal brews just on the periphery On the train north from New York City, Lucy Winter takes inventory of her life. Twenty-seven and newly single, Lucy is headed toward a fate she never anticipated: professorship at a women&rsquo;s college in New England. Her doctorate degree, obtained from Harvard, was more of a hobby than a professional aspiration&mdash;something to occupy her time while her fianc&eacute; completed his medical studies nearby. But at Appleton College she finds new enthusiasm in academia, teaching young women to be brilliant in a society that does not yet value their intellect. When Lucy discovers a scandal involving a star student, she ignites controversy on the campus. Many in the faculty rush to either defend or condemn the student, who is carrying the burden that often accompanies excellence. At the center of the political maelstrom is Lucy, who, despite her newfound difficulties on campus, is finding that her unexpected detour to Appleton may lead to a more rich and rewarding life than she ever anticipated. An insightful and inspiring study of scholarship, teaching, and women in academia, The Small Room is also the memorable story of a young professor coming into her own. </div>

The Small Room

<div>May Sarton&rsquo;s celebrated novel of family, philosophy, and survival, set between the two great wars that cleaved Europe in two In the wake of the First World War, life for the Duchesnes goes on almost as it always has. Situated near a vegetable garden, an orchard, and rolling green pastures, their Belgian estate is one of the few that escaped dereliction in the difficult preceding years. The garden is M&eacute;lanie Duchesne&rsquo;s lifeblood&mdash;a boost to her seemingly unending well of vitality. The introspective Paul finds his refuge in writing, his most deeply held ambition. But as the years pass, Paul&rsquo;s books find little audience, and husband and wife focus instead on their furniture business and their growing family. The Bridge of Years follows the Duchesnes in the years leading up to World War II&mdash;their daily exploits and travails, the small moments and mundane beauties that fill their lives. When their German friend Schmidt arrives for a visit, he brings news of an impending nightmare in the East that is threatening to overturn life as they know it. With the specter of fascism looming, the rising tensions bring out the best in Paul, whose writing enjoys renewed vigor and intensity, as well as in M&eacute;lanie, whose steadfast determination might be the very thing that saves her family as war knocks at their door once again. </div>

The Bridge of Years

<div>May Sarton&rsquo;s first memoir: A lyrical and enchanting look at her formative years from the onset of the First World War through the beginning of the Second Author of a dozen memoirs, May Sarton had a unique talent for capturing the wonder and beauty of nature, love, aging, and art. Throughout her prolific career, she penned many journals examining the different stages of her life, and in this, her first memoir, she laid the foundation for what would become one of the most beloved autobiographical oeuvres in modern literature. Sarton writes of her early childhood in Belgium in the years before World War I, her time in Boston while her father taught at Harvard, and her schooling in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she fell in love with poetry and theater. She describes her first meetings and fast friendships with such notable figures as Virginia Woolf, Julian Huxley, James Stephens, and S. S. Koteliansky, many of whom would later come to populate her critically acclaimed journals. With sharp insights and captivating prose, I Knew a Phoenix introduces a generation of readers to one of the twentieth century&rsquo;s most cherished writers. </div>

I Knew a Phoenix

<div>The bestselling author and newly minted octogenarian &ldquo;demonstrates that old age can be a vibrant and liberating experience . . . fearless and triumphant&rdquo; (Publishers Weekly). On the second day of her 80th year, May Sarton began a new journal. She wrote it because she wanted &ldquo;to go on a little while longer;&rdquo; to discover &ldquo;what is really happening to me.&rdquo; This triumphant sequel to Endgame&mdash;Sarton&rsquo;s journal of her 79th year&mdash;is filled with the comforting minutiae of daily life, from gardening to planning dinners and floral arrangements to answering fan mail. The wonderful thing about getting older, Sarton writes, is &ldquo;the freedom to be absurd, the freedom to forget things . . . the freedom to be eccentric.&rdquo; Her other octogenarian pleasures include preparing for holidays and weddings, lunches with old friends and new admirers, the heady delight of critical recognition, and the rebirth of her lyric voice as she creates new poems. Yet Sarton knows that age can also bring pain and ill health, as well as a deepening awareness of the &ldquo;perilousness of life on all sides, knowing that at any moment something frightful may happen.&rdquo;</div>

Encore

<div>May Sarton&rsquo;s lifetime of work as a poet, novelist, and essayist inform these illuminating reflections on the creative life In &ldquo;The Book of Babylon,&rdquo; May Sarton remarks that she is not a critic&mdash;except of her own work. The essay addresses questions that have haunted Sarton&rsquo;s own creative practice, such as the concept of &ldquo;tension in equilibrium&rdquo;&mdash;balancing past and present, idea and image. She also cites poems written by others to describe the joy of writing and how we must give ourselves over to becoming the instruments of our art. &ldquo;The Design of a Novel&rdquo; is about fiction writing&mdash;where ideas come from, how theme and character determine plot, the mistakes many fledgling authors make, and how and why the novel differs from the poem. Further texts examine the act of composing verse, one&rsquo;s state of mind when writing poetry, the role of the unconscious, how revising is the loftiest form of creation, and how to keep growing as an artist. Throughout the collection, Sarton also warns about the dangers of trying to analyze the creative process too closely. A book that doesn&rsquo;t separate art from the artist&rsquo;s life, Writings on Writing is filled with Sarton&rsquo;s trademark imagery and insights, letting us know we&rsquo;re in the hands of a master. </div>

Writings on Writing

<div>A Harvard grad student falls in love with an older woman in this beautifully written novel set in Paris Francis Chabrier is a 26-year-old graduate student still looking for direction when his mother dies. The reverberations of her sudden demise are deeply felt within her family circle and in the lives of her friends. Francis&rsquo;s stepfather, Alan, is devastated&mdash;but Francis only feels angry and adrift. Everyone expects him to marry his childhood friend Ann. Instead, he leaves Boston for Paris, where he spent the first 12 years of his life. Here, in the City of Lights, he hopes to find purpose and meaning&mdash;and Solange Bernard. Solange is an old friend of Francis&rsquo;s mother. As a boy, Francis was captivated by the vivacious French beauty, and now he has traveled to France to see if she is as he remembers. The woman he meets is no longer young, nor is she all that beautiful. But when Francis is with her, the years between them disappear. Soon they are swept into a passionate affair that opens up a world of tantalizing possibility . . . and changes Francis in ways he never imagined. A novel about the journey of self-discovery, Shadow of a Man tells a tender and honest story about first love that will resonate with readers of every age. </div>

Shadow of a Man

<div>A professor&rsquo;s suicide is the catalyst for this novel about politics and ideals set at Harvard during the 1950s When Harvard professor Edward Cavan commits suicide by throwing himself under a subway train, his death sets off shock waves both across campus and in the hearts of his loved ones. To Edward&rsquo;s estranged sister, Isabel, her brother represented the dangers she sought to escape through the security of marriage. His student George Hastings saw in Edward the father he wished he had. Damon Phillips shared Edward&rsquo;s idealistic beliefs &mdash;until his fear of being branded a Communist caused him to betray his friend. And Ivan Goldberg knew Edward as a man who would rather die than compromise his beliefs. Through the eyes of those he touched, Edward comes alive again, and we begin to understand who he is and what he stands for. With a title that is a metaphor for the embattled lives of 1950s liberals, Faithful Are the Wounds is about what it means to be American and human in a world that can affect us on the most profound spiritual and ideological levels. It is about how much we are willing to sacrifice for our freedom, and what happens when our values are destroyed. </div>

Faithful Are the Wounds

<div>&ldquo;A testament to the joys of nature from a courageous and loving woman . . . her cats, birds, garden and visitors keep her ecstatically anchored in life&rdquo; (Publishers Weekly). &ldquo;I always imagined a journal that would take me through my seventy-ninth year,&rdquo; May Sarton writes, &ldquo;the doors opening out from old age to unknown efforts and surprises.&rdquo; Instead of musing calmly on the philosophical implications of aging, the writer found herself spending most of her energy battling for her health. Coping with constant pain and increasing frailty, Sarton fears that the end is not far off. The story of what she calls the &ldquo;last laps of a long-distance runner,&rdquo; this yearlong journal addresses such familiar Sarton topics as her beloved garden, the harshness of Maine winters, and the friendships and intimate relationships that have nurtured and sustained her. She settles some old literary scores and paints a generous portrait of Virginia Woolf, who often shared tea with Sarton during the late 1930s. When illness saps Sarton&rsquo;s ability to type, she dictates into recorders and has the tapes transcribed by devoted assistants. In spite of the loss of independence and the fear that she will never fully recover, she does her best to soldier on, taking pleasure in small things like a good meal; her cat, Pierrot, who loves the rain; and being able to sleep through the night. An enduring inspiration to millions of women, Sarton even finds the courage to achieve again. </div>

Endgame

<div>The bestselling feminist author&rsquo;s &ldquo;lyrical, candid, sensitive&rdquo; account of her efforts to regain her health, art, and sense of self after a stroke (Publishers Weekly). Feeling cut off and isolated&mdash;from herself most of all&mdash;after suffering a stroke at age 73, May Sarton began a journal that helped her along the road to recovery. She wrote every day without fail, even if illness sometimes prevented her from penning more than a few lines. From her sprawling house off the coast of Maine, Sarton shares the quotidian details of her life in the aftermath of what her doctors identified as a small brain hemorrhage. What they did not tell her was the effect it would have on her life and work. Sarton&rsquo;s journal is filled with daily accounts of the weather, her garden, beloved pets, and her concerns about losing psychic energy and no longer feeling completely whole. A woman who had always prized her solitude, Sarton experiences feelings of intense loneliness. When overwhelmed by the past, she tries to find comfort in soothing remembrances of her travels, and struggles to learn to live moment by moment. As Sarton begins to regain her strength, she rejoices in the life &ldquo;recaptured and in all that still lies ahead.&rdquo; Interspersed with heartfelt recollections about fellow poets and aspiring writers who see in Sarton a powerful muse, this is a wise and moving memoir about life after illness. </div>

After the Stroke

<div>May Sarton&rsquo;s 7th novel is about marriage, family, life&rsquo;s cycles, and the regeneration of love Frances and Sprig Wyeth have come to the old Wyeth house in Maine for the summer. In a house filled with lively members of her husband&rsquo;s extended family, Frances feels alienated from everyone, including Sprig. A night of passion breaks down the growing barriers between them, yet Frances feels it is more a &ldquo;desperate moment of possession&rdquo; than the true &ldquo;flowing together of two deeply joined selves.&rdquo; And although she&rsquo;s the mother of two grown children, in many ways she still feels like a child, waiting to mature into adulthood. Sprig adores his wife. But now, at 50, he both wants her and wants her to leave. He longs for freedom and is haunted by memories of his youth. His son, Caleb, is hostile; his unmarried daughter, Betsy, is pregnant. Sprig feels as if he is &ldquo;walking in the dark,&rdquo; and has begun to doubt himself as a husband, father, and friend. The Birth of a Grandfather is the story of a marriage and a family, of friendship and the love that reminds us that we are alive and that we matter. It&rsquo;s about the small domestic moments and the defining events that make up a life. </div>

The Birth of a Grandfather

<div>This transcript from the film World of Light: A Portrait of May Sarton illuminates the life and writing of the poet while celebrating the joys of creativity, love, and solitude In June of 1979, May Sarton answered the questions of two filmmakers and read to them from her poetry. This four-day &ldquo;jam session&rdquo; ultimately became an acclaimed documentary about her life and work. For Sarton, the muse has always been female, and the writer says that her own poems &ldquo;tell me where to go.&rdquo; In this rare and inspiring window into a singular woman&rsquo;s soul, Sarton speaks candidly about everything from how a single image opened the door to writing about her mother to the importance of transparency in art and life. She shares insights into her very personal art, including the unusual people and events that provide inspiration, how creativity can grow out of pain, solitude as a two-edged sword, the difficulties of being a female poet, and the ways love can open &ldquo;the door into one&rsquo;s own secret and . . . frightening real self.&rdquo; Featuring sections entitled &ldquo;On Inner Space,&rdquo; &ldquo;On Nature,&rdquo; and &ldquo;On Love,&rdquo; this revealing volume is also about the need go on, even when up against overwhelming odds. May Sarton: A Self-Portrait pays tribute to an artist&rsquo;s vision and serves as a revealing window into a fascinating life.</div>

May Sarton: A Self-Portrait

<div>Now in one volume: Three exquisite meditations on nature, healing, and the pleasures of the solitary life from a New York Times&ndash;bestselling author. In a long life spent recording her personal observations, poet, novelist, and memoirist May Sarton redefined the journal as a literary form. This extraordinary volume collects three of her most beloved works. Journal of a Solitude: Sarton&rsquo;s bestselling memoir chronicles a solitary year spent at the house she bought and renovated in the quiet village of Nelson, New Hampshire. Her revealing insights are a moving and profound reflection on creativity, oneness with nature, and the courage it takes to be alone. Plant Dreaming Deep: Sarton&rsquo;s intensely personal account of how she transformed a dilapidated eighteenth-century farmhouse into a home is a loving, beautifully crafted memoir illuminated by themes of friendship, love, nature, and the struggles of the creative life. Recovering: In this affecting diary of one year&rsquo;s hardships and healing, Sarton focuses on her sixty-sixth year, which was marked by the turmoil of a mastectomy, the end of a treasured relationship, and the loneliness that visits a life of chosen solitude. By turns uplifting, cathartic, and revelatory, Sarton&rsquo;s journals still strike a chord in the hearts of contemporary readers. Through them, in the words of the Los Angeles Times, &ldquo;we are able to see our own experiences reflected in hers and we are enriched.&rdquo;</div>

The Journals of May Sarton Volume One

<div>Three luminous novels from a New York Times&ndash;bestselling author and National Book Award finalist whose &ldquo;prose leaves compelling echoes in one&rsquo;s mind&rdquo; (The New York Times Book Review). Throughout her long and acclaimed career, May Sarton refused to be categorized. As a memoirist, poet, and novelist, she broke new ground by openly exploring homosexuality, gender inequality, and other once taboo social issues. Gathered here in one volume are three of her most memorable and moving works of fiction. Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing: Widely regarded as her most important work, Sarton&rsquo;s 1965 semiautobiographical novel centers upon Hillary Stevens, an author now in her twilight years. As she prepares to publish anew, Stevens sits down to discuss her life, the arc of her creative journey, and her love affairs&mdash;with both men and women. &ldquo;The plot of this short novel is deceptively simple, the mood subtle, the feeling intense&rdquo; (The New York Times Book Review). A Shower of Summer Days: The Irish estate home Dene Court has been shuttered for years&mdash;but this summer Violet Dene Gordon and her husband Charles return from British Burma, electrifying life in the sleepy village that adjoins Violet&rsquo;s childhood home. As an added complication, Violet&rsquo;s American niece is being sent to Ireland to separate her from an unsuitable romantic attachment. A National Book Award finalist, &ldquo;A Shower of Summer Days establishes once and for all [Sarton&rsquo;s] unmistakable authority&rdquo; (The New York Times Book Review). The Magnificent Spinster: This &ldquo;absolutely compelling . . . monument to love . . . [and] friendship&rdquo; is actually the story of two women: Cam, the novel&rsquo;s narrator, and the recently deceased Jane Reid. Unmarried and childless, Jane left no family to remember her, so Cam sets out to immortalize the life of her quietly remarkable friend and teacher in fiction (The Cleveland Plain Dealer).</div>

The Novels of May Sarton Volume One

<div>Three celebrated volumes of verse from a feminist icon, poet, and author of the groundbreaking novel Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing. Letters from Maine: A rugged coastline provides a stark background for Sarton&rsquo;s images of a tragically brief love. With vulnerability and emotional depth, she explores the willingness to devote everything to a new love, as well as the despair at the memory of what is left over when it fades. Inner Landscape: This collection of May Sarton&rsquo;s poems displays her inimitable mix of stately verse and depth of feeling that lurks beneath every line, creating a tantalizing, magnetically charged distance between reader and poet. Halfway to Silence: After decades of writing flowing lyric verse, May Sarton&rsquo;s style turned to short, vibrant bursts of poetry. These condensed poems are rife with exuberant impressions of nature and of love, including two of her most acclaimed works, &ldquo;Old Lovers at the Ballet&rdquo; and &ldquo;Of the Muse.&rdquo; Recognized as a true pioneer in lesbian literature, &ldquo;Sarton&rsquo;s poems enter and illuminate every natural corner of our lives. . . . So strong in their faith and in their positive response to the human condition that they will outlast much of the fashionable, cynical poetry of our ear&rdquo; (James Martin). </div>

The Poetry of May Sarton Volume One

<div>Three compelling volumes of poetry from a feminist icon, poet, and author of the groundbreaking novel Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing. A Durable Fire: This collection borrows its title from Sir Walter Raleigh, who wrote, &ldquo;Love is a durable fire / In the mind ever burning.&rdquo; It is a fitting sentiment for a collection on solitude, wherein the author finds herself full of emotion even in seclusion. A Durable Fire is a transformative work by a masterful poet. A Grain of Mustard Seed: In this beautiful collection, Sarton explores dark and destructive femininity. She writes of &ldquo;Crude power that forges a balance / Between hate and love,&rdquo; finding an amalgam of dark and light within a single act. These graceful and nuanced poems join timeless ideas and specific moments in history. A Private Mythology: To celebrate her fiftieth birthday, Sarton embarked on a pilgrimage around the world. Traveling through Japan, India, and Greece, she captured her spiritual discoveries in this vivid collection of poetry. Arresting images and meditations on the differences between East and West are rendered in this &ldquo;colorful, polished&rdquo; winner of the Emily Clark Balch Prize (Kirkus Reviews). </div>

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May Sarton
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