Winner of the American Book Award: May Sarton's honest and engrossing journal of her seventieth year, spent living and working on the Maine coast.May Sarton'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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 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,...

In the hallowed halls of one of New England's most prestigious colleges, a young woman finds new and unexpected life as professor while a scandal brews just on the peripheryOn 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's college in New England. Her doctorate degree, obtained from Harvard, was more of a hobby than a professiona...

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 ...

A professor's suicide is the catalyst for this novel about politics and ideals set at Harvard during the 1950sWhen 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'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 fath...

A comprehensive volume collecting May Sarton's poetry from over sixty years of workThis collection spanning six decades exposes the charm and clarity of Sarton'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's...

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...