Now in one volume: Three exquisite meditations on nature, healing, and the pleasures of the solitary life from a New York Times –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's bestselling memoir ch...

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 solitudeIn June of 1979, May Sarton answered the questions of two filmmakers and read to them from her poetry. This four-day "jam session" ultimately became an acclaimed documentary about her life and work.For Sarton, the muse has always been female...

Three luminous novels from a New York Times–bestselling author and National Book Award finalist whose "prose leaves compelling echoes in one's mind" ( 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 ...

May Sarton's celebrated novel of family, philosophy, and survival, set between the two great wars that cleaved Europe in twoIn 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 Mélanie Duchesne's lifeblood—a boost to her seemingly unendin...

The comprehensive collection detailing the career of a twentieth-century masterIn 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'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...

The poet and author's "beautiful . . . wise and warm" journal of time spent in her New Hampshire home alone with her garden, her books, the seasons, and herself (Eugenia Thornton, Cleveland Plain Dealer )."Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is richness of self." —May SartonMay Sarton's parrot chatters away as Sarton looks out the window at the rain and contemplates returning to her "real" life—not friends,...

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 futureOver 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...

In this poignant novel by a New York Times–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—her "real connections"—all of which have been with women. From her tempestuous daughter and beloved aunt, to a promising lesbian write...

The author's tribute to the 18th-century New England farmhouse she called home: "[A] tender and often poignant book by a woman of many insights" ( 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 "dream the house alive" inside herself befor...

An affecting diary of one year's hardships and healing, by one of the twentieth century's most extraordinary memoiristsFor decades, readers have celebrated May Sarton'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—one marked by the turmoil of a mastectomy, the end of a treasured relationship, and the loneliness that visits a...

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 wor...

The bestselling author and newly minted octogenarian "demonstrates that old age can be a vibrant and liberating experience . . . fearless and triumphant" ( Publishers Weekly).On the second day of her 80th year, May Sarton began a new journal. She wrote it because she wanted "to go on a little while longer;" to discover "what is really happening to me."This triumphant sequel to Endgame—Sarton's journal of ...