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Among Friends: A Memoir2009
An intelligent voice. An illuminating book. Sanelli is unsparing as she explores the subject of friendship in women’s lives. This is a book of self-discovery...dauntless, smart, funny, beautifully written.
"This book came along at just the right time for me." — Vicki Jewel, Honolulu Bookclub
Purchase at: Elliott Bay Book Co., Queen Anne Books, University Bookstore, Amazon |
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Small Talk2008
When the author saw the cover painting by Lois Silver, Girlfriends, she was captured by the easy intimacy these two women share. Soon after, she set out to compile a collection of poems that captures those innermost connections between people—those brief conversations, those small talks, that make us whole.
Purchase at: Elliott Bay Book Co., Queen Anne Books, University Bookstore, Amazon |
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Falling Awake: A Collection of Essays2007
Falling Awake chronologically compiles Sanelli’s inquisitive, savvy, and humorous essays. Mary Lou Sanelli has a personable and striking presence in her writings. Throughout her career—seven poetry collections with a memoir, Among Friends, forthcoming in 2009, regular newspaper and magazine columns, and numerous radio commentaries—she brings a sharp eye and sophisticated wit not only to the sometimes disheartening, sometimes encouraging aspects of our current politics and culture, but also to issues specific to her home city of Seattle and home town of Port Townsend, Washington. Political relations, women’s issues, family dynamics, the intricacies of a writer’s life, what can go wrong at a Seattle dinner party—all are mulled over in this intelligently engaging collection that is a life-affirming journey in essays, a testimonial to the agelong process of questioning the status quo in order to find one’s honesty.
Purchase at: Elliott Bay Book Co., Queen Anne Books, University Bookstore, Amazon |
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Craving Water2004
In Mary Lou Sanelli's sixth collection, the author shows, in poem after poem, just what place means to her: the people, the landscape, the gardens, the cafes, and, yes, the water. She does, indeed, crave the water. For Sanelli, rain, for which the Northwest is so well known, has a mission to revive and cleanse rather than to depress or sadden, and she learns, along with her readers, how to grow and to thrive under "clouds raining gray." You'll come away from this book with a deep appreciation of this corner of America and, quite likely, with a longing to know your own home town and your own neighbors a little better than you do now.
Purchase at: Elliott Bay Book Co., Queen Anne Books, University Bookstore, Amazon |
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The Immigrant’s Table2002, Second Printing 2005
“An unusual & delightful book” —Publisher’s Weekly
This book made possible, in part, from a grant from Artist Trust.
“In this collection, Mary Lou Sanelli brings poems out of the ivory tower, straight to the family dinner table. No fast-food substitutes here, as the poet recreates a culture in which food preparation is a cherished ritual. Sanelli’s clear-eyed, yet loving, awareness of family members’ foibles, including her own, provides the reader with a menu that nourishes both body and spirit, a gourmet treat for the imagination.”
Purchase at: Elliott Bay Book Co., Queen Anne Avenue Books, University Bookstore, Amazon |
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Women in the Garden2001, Second Printing 2005
Women in the Garden lights on a winning combination: cultivating the soil and renewing the language. The gardener’s routine, like that of the poet, sharpens observation and fosters the contemplative spirit. Though the book’s focus is in the garden, the situations are varied and as much outside the individual’s control as the elements. Wind, rain, and sun may help or hinder growth, but the key to success in both gardening and writing is a ready receptivity, something Sanelli brings to the ordinary happenings of each day.
Purchase at: Elliott Bay Book Co., Queen Anne Books, University Bookstore, Amazon |
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Close at Hand1998
In this early collection Sanelli takes her time to look closely at things. This is an intimate and absorbing collection. Woven into the rhythm of daily life, Sanelli crafts an original blend of memorable and distinct poetry, all of it close to the heart of things, close at hand.
Purchase at: Elliott Bay Book Co., Queen Anne Books, University Bookstore, Amazon |