Mary Ricketson's latest poetry book is here

We are proud to announce the publication of this poetry book: 

Keeping in Place, a chapbook of poems by Mary Ricketson, Murphy NC, published by Finishing Line Press:  This collection of poems chronicles the author’s experience, isolated at home in the Appalachian mountains during the first several months of the current Covid 19 pandemic.   

 “Keeping in Place,” says author and Young Harris College professor Rosemary Royston, “is a collection of poems where the speaker, stricken by COVID, turns her focus to nature, drinks in the magic of the mountains, and absorbs the wisdom of walnuts.”  

Shelby Stephenson, former Poet Laureate of North Carolina, says Ricketson “pays homage to the natural world she loves, securing emotions she treasures… On her walks, she salutes the cow, the mule, the plants, and a hemlock she tunes to survival.” 

Ricketson’s poems often reflect the healing power of nature, surrounding mountains as a midwife for her words.  Her published collections are I Hear the River Call My Name, Hanging Dog Creek, Shade and Shelter, and Mississippi: The Story of Luke and Marian.  She writes a column, Woman to Woman, for The Cherokee Scout in Murphy NC. 

Keeping in Place is available from Curiosity Bookstore in Murphy, City Lights in Sylva, the author, or www.finishinglinepress.com. 

*********************

A Personal Note

I received my copy of Keeping in Place and found the book filled with thoughtful verses and images that draw me in: "Walking home, past red farm implements,/ pitchforks in place by shovels and pic axes,/ where even gravel looks bright against dirt, /one white iris sings her promise of hope."

From the poem, "My Contemplation."

"Sick with COVID went viral"  - tells of the horrible experience of illness, being alone, the phone her lifeline, and then the joy of the Negative test later. I felt her pain, her anxiety, and her relief.

Congratulations to Mary Ricketson for another exceptional poetry book.

Glenda Beall