Poetry of May Sarton

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'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'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'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, "Old Lovers at the Ballet" and "Of the Muse."

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, "Love is a durable fire / In the mind ever burning." 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 "Crude power that forges a balance / Between hate and love," 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.