“…we get stuck on past time memories the joys
and times we had. it makes us sad. So change direction
put some new lights on this stage of life. Do for others
that are lacking. Be happy that this gift is given. Listen and
love this
time of life.”
Mary Kellogg
In 2018, Mary Kellogg and I sat at her dining room table, next to the big picture window overlooking the mountains, gardens, and birds she often wrote about. There were piles of folders and papers on the table, some handwritten, most typed, many on a typewriter, with corrections in pencil.
We went through the poems together, her reading some of them out loud.
As always they were a mix of memories, nature and her thoughts on her life in that moment. In the past, she felt that some of them, like The Photo, about her beloved husband Dick, were too personal to publish.
But now, not wanting them to be lost, she was ready to put them out into the world. I am so grateful that Jon and I were able to help her do that.
Since March when we began sheltering in place, people have been continuously buying Mary Kellogg’s fourth book “This Time of Life”.
At first, I didn’t get why people were suddenly interested in it, but of course, now I can see that the title alone is enough to attract attention during this time. And although Mary wrote her poems before the Corona Virus, it’s still, in many ways, timely.
I imagine some of the people who bought the book knew of Mary from Jon’s and my blogs. So they would know, from her past books, that Mary’s poems, though honest about the difficult realities, still embrace her love of life.
Mary always said it was her desire with her poems, to bring joy through her memories, and observations of nature when possible. And to bring hope when writing about the more trying times in life.
Mary now lives in an Adult Home not far from the farm she loved. Her memory is fading so I’ve begun sending the money that she earns from her books to her daughter who puts it into an account for Mary to spend as she pleases.
This Time of Life, By Mary Kellogg is for sale in my Etsy Shop. It’s $10 plus $4 shipping. Mary already sold enough copies of her book to cover the costs so now she gets to keep the full $10 that she earns on each one.
You can buy her book here.
I also have the last three copies of Mary’s first book My Place On Earth for sale. This book has poems written between 2002-2007 with lots of photos by Jon in it. It’s $15 + shipping. You can also buy it in my Etsy Shop.
