Gathering, Poems by MaryEllen Letarte

Gathering, New and Selected Poems, is a collection of works, varied in length and form, connected through the motifs of birth, death, and the natural world. Lyricism and employment of the senses tune these poems from the first line to the last.  

Sample Poems by MaryEllen Letarte

"'I'm a museum,' writes MaryEllen Letarte in Gathering, evoking equally the treasure-keeper, story-seeker, and generous curator at work in this intimate, wide-ranging collection. These poems invite the reader to travel-to distant lands, into other centuries and lives-and also to take root in the pleasures and comforts of home. The poet reveals a world of connections, possibilities, and insight. She is a master of the spare, ringing ending and more than once I caught my breath at her precise, daring exit. A skillful and soulful guide, she beckons us to follow her into the museum to see for ourselves the wonders that she has gathered over a lifetime of looking and sensing. We emerge from the visit enlivened and inspired, glad we came." -Kate Chadbourne

"In Gathering, MaryEllen Letarte has assembled decades of family reminiscences distilled from loving observation, each as colorful and revealing as any photograph. Spanning generations from grandparents to grandchildren, and often populated with the flowers, birds, and creatures of New England, these vignettes speak authoritatively of the traits that unite families: shared heritage, respect for accomplishment, sincere appreciation of values, and the occasional poignant secret revealed."-Frederick Hinchliffe II

"What a beautiful braid of life this poet weaves, inspired by the birds, fields, flowers and trees of her home ground, and by the lives and stories of generations of family. Capturing what is precious and fleeting in keenly observed moments in time, this collection quietly builds its case-that woven together the stories of our lives and of our loved ones make up the heart of who we are, and indeed the very fabric of time."-Regina McGee

"MaryEllen Letarte's latest collection, Gathering, is a deep longing on the page, a heartfelt ode or paean to family, nature, and nostalgia. It is memory writ large in reverence as it brings together the 'thousand monarchs' and 'cloud of starlings' of the past to 'find their home in the perfect tree.' These poems, like Letarte's wrens, 'sing for those who listen.'"-Christian Reifsteck

ISBN: 978-1625492791, 102 pages

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