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Tuesday, June 26, 2012


I just updated my FB account to add a FB business page for my writing and workshop facilitation businesses. If this interests you, please visit:  https://www.facebook.com/MarySaracinoWriterWorkshopFacilitator and “Like” the page. 

Wednesday, November 2, 2011


October Snow
© 2011 Mary Saracino

The thick, wet snow 
burdens the boughs
of startled maple trees
the menacing visitor arrived
unexpectedly
bearing its unseasonably early gifts;
in the front yard
the smallest tree, once splendid in its flaming glory
blushes
unable to conceal
its naked soul
its delicate leafless limbs
no longer able to hide
its longing
for summer sun
for nesting birds
for languid days of
endless desire.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Autumnal Equinox
© 2011 Mary Saracino

Red maple leaves
sail through the crisp morning air
returning their brilliant
cargo to the waiting lap of earth
they kiss the soil
goodbye
& bear the darkness
of winter’s biding time
saying farewell to
summer’s heat &
blazing sun
equal parts
hope & death
this day, this equinox, a reminder:
all that rots
returns
renewed

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

MOTHEROOT Memoir Writing Workshop

I'm teaching a memoir writing workshop in Central Denver on Saturday, October 15th. Check out the attached flyer for more info.

Here's a brief overview:

You don’t have to be a celebrity to write a memoir. Everyone has a story to tell because everyone’s life is touched by poignant events and memorable experiences. The birth of your first child. The day you got married. The valuable lessons your parents taught you or the story of their lives. That trip that changed your life forever. The day you were diagnosed with cancer.

For less than the cost of a month’s worth of Starbucks lattes you can learn how to fine-tune an idea, develop your story, and craft a first draft version of a compelling memoir that showcases your personal experiences. No previous writing experience necessary.


Saturday, 10/15; 9:00 AM-1:00 PM; Central Denver   
Fee: $85; Buddy Discount: Enroll with a friend; pay only $80/person



Reserve your place by October 1st
Email: marysar1004@msn.com

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Donna Henes, The Queen of My Self: Stepping into Sovereignty in Midlife


Donna Henes’ ground-breaking book, The Queen of My Self: Stepping into Sovereignty in Midlife, is now available in e-book format from Amazon.com and other places. Part mid-life training manual, part middle-age manifesto, this powerful book is a clarion call for clarity and courage as we face and transform what it means to be a middle aged woman in the world, today.

Though many of us are no longer occupying our childbearing/child-rearing role, we haven’t yet reached the level of wise elder. In that in-between realm, Henes invites us to claim our sovereignty, embrace our Queendom and assume our rightful agency.

From the very first page, The Queen of My Self rings true. Cultivated in the soil of authentic, first-hand experience, Henes writes (and speaks) with unabashed honesty. Forthright, humorous, tender and inspiriting, this book will enliven your soul and hasten your determination to be the best you can be. It will inspire you to reclaim every remnant of your soul that might have been misplaced, lost, or stolen during your journey from girlhood to womanly maturity.

Henes draws upon her more than 30 years of experience as an internationally recognized urban shaman, writer, and artist. She’s led countless celebrations, rituals, and ceremonies and she’s written numerous books and articles. In short, she’s been around the proverbial block a few times, and because she has, she possesses a wealth of embodied knowledge, which she so generously shares with us in this remarkable book. Her stories are as delightful as they are instructive. Her anecdotes are poignant and real. Her hope is boundless and her keen ability to tell it like it is, is refreshing and empowering.

She writes: “I offer my services as the advance scout.” And, any woman lingering in the shadows between self-doubt and self-reclamation should heed her offer, for she encourages each of us to become the “mature monarch, the sole sovereign” of our own life and destiny.

As the book unfolds, you’ll learn about Henes’ story and the stories of other women, throughout time and from many different societies, situations, and stations, who’ve crossed the challenging river of transformation to created rich, daring and dynamic lives. Henes intersperses folklore,
poetry, myth, practical suggestions, exercises, affirmations, celebrations, rituals,
and invocations to create a must-read handbook.

Whether you’re just entering the middle years of your life or have fully and unequivocally arrived in that grand land of opportunity, the Queen archetype is a perfect fit for the 21st century woman.

As Henes’ notes, the Queen is “Not yet old, yet no longer young, She is a regal Queen standing in Her proper place—after the Mother and before the Crone in No Woman’s Land. She plants Her flag and claims Her space in this previously uncharted midlife territory. Still active and sexy, vital with the enthusiasm and energy of youth, the Queen is tempered with the hard-earned experience and leavening attitudes of age.”

Get ready to savor this gem of a book. Then toss out any of the outdated ideas of how you thought a middle age woman was supposed to act, feel, or live her life. Crown yourself Queen, not just for the day, but for the rest of your precious, splendid life.

For further information about Donna Henes’s work or to request a calendar of
upcoming events, a list of publications and services, and a complimentary copy
of Always In Season, contact Mama Donna at www.thequeenofmyself.com.

To order an e-book or print book version of The Queen of My Self: Stepping into Sovereignty in Midlife, visit:

Art and Words Editions (The publisher of the E-book)http://www.artandwordseditions.com/home/2010/08/27/e-book-the-queen-of-my-self/

AMAZON


BARNES AND NOBLE

APPLE
Link to the book page in iBookstore (Apple's bookstore app for iPad, iPhone, and iPod). If you don’t have the app installed, it will link to the iTunes pages on Apple's site. 

US store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/isbn9780982812549

Great Britain store: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/isbn9780982812549
Queen Mama Donna Henes


Friday, May 6, 2011

Motherlines

Margaret
On the day I was born you nearly bled to death
perhaps a sign that our lives were marked for strife
but a mother’s womb is a thing of power
a proving ground for life and all its mysteries
you called me first-daughter and I shouldered
that responsibility, sometimes bearing
too many of your sorrows
always bearing mine
our lives are as entwined as our DNA
that mitochondrial ribbon of memory
tethers us to the long sighs of mothers and daughters —
Maria Fiora Petronilla Lazurri
Maria Assunta Rocchiccioli — and other
more ancient daughters, mothers,
grandmothers, great grandmothers –
whose names we do not know
strong women who loved and lost, laughed and cried
dreamed and despaired and lived — always
lived knowing that blood runs deep
and primeval bonds are never severed
whether our days are carefree or fraught with pain
something carries us forward
something that knows mothers are imperfect
and daughters are too
something that knows us each by heart
celebrates the joys and sorrows
blesses us all the way through.

Rose
Not mother by birth, but second mother by chance
your fierce spirit a reminder
that a woman strong is a mighty beauty —
though some would not agree
when first you married my father
my twenty-something eyes had seen too much
yet much more lay ahead
at your table I have feasted on roasted chicken
with potatoes, polenta simmering in red sauce,
savory meatballs and homemade fried dough
listening to your stories about your sisters,
heeding your reminder to always cherish mine
there’s something in a woman’s bones that celebrates
the twin sustenance of food and sisterhood,
something that honors the balm that resides
in the love of mothers—biological or not —
that knows life is painful and bearable
knows, too, that only love sustains us
through the long walk home

Rosemary
When first I met you my life lay in shards
at my feet, splinters of mirrored glass reflecting
worry and woe back at my astonished eyes
discontent called my name
you asked me to look closely
wait and listen for my truth, for answers
I never cried in front of you
yet the kindness in your eyes
called my name
steeled my courage
led me home
together we mended
the fragile fragments
fashioned woe into a window
a doorway
a way in & out
of my delicate, willing heart

Laura
Voice clenched in terror
I sat before you
too many secrets trapped
in too many memories
my lips afraid to speak
my brain shattered by shock
I wanted to shout, but could not
I wanted to silence years of no-no-no
dive, singing, into the boundless sea of yes-yes-yes
I longed to drown in epiphany, be reborn
a woman whose tongue was ablaze
with voluptuous vowels
loose-limbed consonants
I could not have known
the way out was strewn
with prayers and poems
pictures drawn of fierce, howling mouths
the dark eyes of a young girl staring back at me
her twisted mouth clamped shut
her lonesome hands reaching
for something it would take me years to recognize
when at last the stifling air stirred
I began to cry and sculpted Amazons of clay
fists clenched against injustice, wanting — always wanting —
to laugh, to dance, to say what I needed to say
without censor, without regret, without retaliation
and you, a patient midwife,
witnessed my bloody birth without flinching
breath after precious breath you stood resolute
as I gathered the lost syllables
reclaiming the nouns, verbs, plump sentences
of my mother tongue
the native language of my soul

Lucia
Mother of mothers dark and divine
your secret keys unlocked ancient doorways
ushering me down dusty roads
peppered with red poppies and parched ruins
Sicily captured me, cradled me in her fragrant arms
coaxed my soul from its too-long slumber
your audacity, your heart, your laughter
spoke of things long forgotten
daring me to speak as well
and to remember
remember
always
remember
Her name
Her name
Her name

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Defiance
by Mary Saracino

I was bred to appease
close the gaping mouth
of desire
a child speaking
in the foreign tongue of docility
relying on conforming consonants
denying voracious vowels their due
jailing truth behind clenched teeth
taunt lips, a shaking, frightened heart.

Even then something inside
refused to cooperate
prowled the dark alleyways of muscles
scrawling thick, bloody letters
on the walls of veins staining the bedrock
of sinew with graffiti
something stood proud like a furious flag
called for revolution
something howled: "I am not for sale."

Even under the sullied breath of childhood
I sometimes whispered whole
sentences of insubordination
befriended the slang of dissension
quietly at first
then more confidently, questioning
each syllable that stuttered across my startled mouth
all that my voice withheld
my relentless heart demanded.

Long miles from youth to now
ripened into insurgence
not anarchy for its own selfish sake
not lawlessness
but justice breaking free.

The years ferried me past complacency
away from the shoreline of orthodoxy
beyond the borderlands of muteness
far from the places where a woman’s silence
is her best kept secret
where she must always know her place
abdicate her will
keep her mouth shut.

Now rebel nouns and verbs dance
upon the tender tip
of my tenacious tongue.
A woman must always ignite her voice
speak of her hunger
satisfy the ache
of purpose that gives birth to defiance
suckle it to her breast
tend to it as if it were
the last child on Earth
the only hope for humanity’s survival
because it is.