Close at Hand: Poetry of the American West: Northwest Chapters

Close at Hand: Poetry of the American West: Northwest Chapters

By Mary Lou Sanelli

“Still, in a way, nobody sees a flower, really, it is so small, we haven’t time, like to have a friend takes time.”

Georgia O’Keeffe said it and she took time to look closely at things, seeing and painting close-ups like no one else. Mary Lou Sanelli writes like O’Keeffe painted—close to the heart of things, close at hand.

In this collection of poetry Sanelli writes about friendships, about journeys, and about moving on.

Sanelli has earned a solid reputation in the poetry community through a steady commitment to the writing and study of poetry and through twenty years of successful public readings. She is the author of two previous collections.

• • 0-931271-47-9 • trade paper • 6 x 9 inches • full-color jacket • 72 pp • $12.95 ORDER NOW

Close at Hand: Poetry of the American West: Northwest Chapters

By Mary Lou Sanelli

“Real voices enliven these poems, and surprise us, too, with their unexpected turns of dialogue and wit. There is respect for the surfaces of the world as well as a willingness to dive deeper. Mary Lou Sanelli’s playful, compassionate, and, at times wonderfully gritty sense of relationship permeates this collection. It’s a pleasure.”
•• Christianne Balk, Walt Whitman Award Winner, Bindweed

Mary Lou Sanelli

Mary Lou Sanelli has earned a solid reputation in the literary community through a steady commitment to writing and publishing and through twenty years of successful public readings. This includes her widely produced staged reading from her poetry collection, The Immigrant’s Table, an acclaimed, original spoken duet that dramatically and poetically tells a story of immigration, cultural adjustment, and weaving Old and New Worlds together into a rich fabric of memoir.

She is the author of six poetry collections previous to Small Talk. Her previous poetry collection from High Plains Press, Close at Hand, was chosen as one of nine Northwest titles in 2005 to be issued in braille by the Seattle Public Library. She also works as a columnist for a number of Northwest newspapers and magazines, and her radio commentaries have aired on numerous radio programs including NPR’s Weekend Edition.

Mary Lou also works as a public speaker and as a dancer, dance instructor, and choreographer. This training and performance experience enables her to present her literary work with skills that surpass the average author reading. She presents her work at corporate events, theaters, writing conferences and festivals, literary venues, colleges and universities, book clubs, and private events.

She divides her time between Seattle and Port Townsend, Washington.