The latest issue of Ninth Letter features two of my poems, “The Sleagh Maith: A Nocturne,” part of my series on folklorist Robert Kirk, and “Open Letter to the Frog Princess,” a poem retelling the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, The Frog King or Iron Heinrich, popularly known as The Princess and the Frog. Also in the issueContinue reading “Two Poems in Ninth Letter”
Category Archives: Blog
Residency at Vermont Studio Center
I just finished a month-long writing residency at Vermont Studio Center, where I spent each day writing in a beautiful studio with a view of the Gihon River and attended readings, slideshows, and talks almost every night. Especially fascinating was visiting poet Sherwin Bitsui‘s seminar on translation and the way language carries culture, and visiting novelist Matt Bell‘s talk on revision, which was exactly what I neededContinue reading “Residency at Vermont Studio Center”
New Review of Wolf Skin
Last month brought some good news for Wolf Skin–the chapbook was nominated for the 2015 Elgin Award, an annual competition for speculative poetry collections coordinated by the Science Fiction Poetry Association (SFPA). And this week, SFPA member Sandra J. Lindow reviewed the collection for Star*Line, the SFPA’s quarterly publication. The review is based on a really close reading ofContinue reading “New Review of Wolf Skin”
Audio Performance of “Primrose, or Return to Il’maril” at Drabblecast
My short story, “Primrose, Or Return to Il’maril” (originally appearing in Apex Magazine, Oct. 2014) is currently being featured by Drabblecast, an award-winning speculative podcast, for Women and Aliens Month. You can listen to the story here (scroll down for the link to audio). Host Norm Sherman makes an intense Vierro Casstratil, and Gabrielle deCuir’s voice acting forContinue reading “Audio Performance of “Primrose, or Return to Il’maril” at Drabblecast”
Medieval Women: Beatrice of Burgundy
In honor of Women’s History Month, today, I’m posting about one of the medieval women I’ve been researching for my novel in progress. Relatively little is known of Beatrice of Burgundy (c. 1143-1184) compared to what is known of her husband. She was about thirteen years old when she married the German king and Roman Emperor FrederickContinue reading “Medieval Women: Beatrice of Burgundy”
Two poems and review essay on Wolf Skin in Chattahoochee Review
My poems, “The Day the Woman Shed Her Skin” and “The Frog King,” are featured in the Fall/Winter 2014 (34.2-3) issue of The Chattahoochee Review, alongside a review essay by contributing editor Gregg Murray on “Confessionalism and High Modernism in Recent Work by Sampson Starkweather, Mary McMyne, and Okla Elliot.” Here’s an excerpt: McMyne’s elegant lyricismContinue reading “Two poems and review essay on Wolf Skin in Chattahoochee Review”
“Snow White and Rose Red” series in Faerie Magazine
I’m delighted to have five poems featured in the winter 2014 issue of Faerie Magazine alongside fairytale photography by Margarita Kareva, fiction by Kate Bernheimer and Alice Hoffman, an essay by Signe Pike, and more. My poems take another look at the “Snow White and Rose Red” tale as collected by the Brothers Grimm. Look for Faerie in your local Barnes and Noble,Continue reading ““Snow White and Rose Red” series in Faerie Magazine”
“Primrose” in Apex Magazine
My sci-fi short, “Primrose, or Return to Il’maril,” in which a crotchety old woman xenoanthropologist investigates a culture set on dying with its star, is out now in Apex Magazine. This story was a blast to write, and I’m so pleased it has found a home there!
“Camille” in Philadelphia Stories
Check out the beautiful cover of the Fall 2014 issue of Philadelphia Stories! I’m excited to see my story, “Camille,” second-place winner of the 2014 Marguerite McGlinn National Prize for Fiction, featured along with the first- and third-place stories.
New Review: On Ghosts by Elizabeth Robinson
My review of Elizabeth Robinson’s haunting hybrid collection, On Ghosts, is now up at Verse: Elizabeth Robinson’s fourteenth book, On Ghosts, is indeed a haunting collection. Elusive and difficult to characterize, the book contains poems as well as abstract essayistic passages, floating quotations, anecdotes, an e-mail, mathematical formulae, and descriptions of (absent) photographs. In her “Explanatory Note,” Robinson writes that theContinue reading “New Review: On Ghosts by Elizabeth Robinson”
“Camille” Wins Second Place in Marguerite McGlinn National Prize for Fiction
My short story, “Camille,” has been selected by judge Julianna Baggott as the second-place winner of this year’s Marguerite McGlinn National Prize for Fiction! This is one I’ve been working on for a while — it’s the story that opens my novel retelling the Odysseus myth from the perspective of a Vietnam soldier’s wife — so I’mContinue reading ““Camille” Wins Second Place in Marguerite McGlinn National Prize for Fiction”
New Review: The Children’s War and Other Poems by Shaindel Beers
Tonight, I finished reading Shaindel Beers’ second full-length poetry collection, The Children’s War and Other Poems (Salt Publishing, 2013). It’s a book in two parts about a difficult subject — the effects of war and violence on children and society at large — but it’s also a book about the healing power of poetry and art.Continue reading “New Review: The Children’s War and Other Poems by Shaindel Beers”
Three new poems on folklorist Robert Kirk in Contrary
Three of my new poems exploring the life, death, and work of Robert Kirk — the 17th century Scottish folklorist, minister, and Gaelic scholar — are featured in the summer issue of Contrary Magazine! Robert Kirk was the author of The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns, and Fairies, a pseudo-scientific study of the folk beliefs of his parishioners about the sleagh maith — thatContinue reading “Three new poems on folklorist Robert Kirk in Contrary”
New Review: Book of Asters by Sally Rosen Kindred
I just finished reading Book of Asters, Sally Rosen Kindred’s haunting second collection (Mayapple Press, 2014). The poems in Book of Asters, like the poems in Kindred’s first full-length book, No Eden, explore themes of motherhood, grief, and spirituality in beautiful, lyrical language. Many of the poems turn flowers into metaphors for womanhood and desire, exploring theContinue reading “New Review: Book of Asters by Sally Rosen Kindred”
Interview about Wolf Skin with Tanya Chernov
The interview Tanya Chernov conducted with me about Wolf Skin is now up, over at her blog. Below is an excerpt from the beginning: TC: Let’s talk about that fantastic title! At what point in the process of composition did you nail it down and know you had the title of your manuscript? What does it represent for you?Continue reading “Interview about Wolf Skin with Tanya Chernov”
MARY MCMYNE 