Mary Kendall
In late July of 2014, I created this blog for the simple purpose of disciplining myself to produce at least one poem a week that I consider finished. It’s always good to hear what people respond to in my poetry. My goal was to share some of my work with people who like to read poetry.
In the past few years my writing has focused more and more on Japanese short form poetry: haiku, tanka, haiga and tankart. It has been an honor to be published in both print and online journals of real excellence. As this blog has evolved, I now post mainly published poems to give them a better viewing. On occasion a non-published poem is posted, but my goal has changed as my writing has changed in the past seven years.
So, who am I? I am an American who is a northerner by birth and upbringing, but I’ve lived in Chapel Hill, North Carolina for 43 years and love life here where I live. My husband and I have one adult son who lives not too far away. We have been fortunate enough to travel a good deal both in the USA and abroad, and we have lived in London four different times.
I’m a retired reading teacher who taught for 34 years in both the private and public sectors of education in the USA. Literacy issues are important to me, and I like staying current on what is happening with world wide literacy efforts. I pray that one day literacy will be universal, along with world peace. I am also a certified Reiki master, and I love sharing this beautiful energy with people and animals.
I have published my work extensively in both print and online journals. My newest book, The Last Camellia, was published by Velvet Dusk Publishing in November, 2023. It is a collection of tanka, haiku, senryu and haiga. It is available at Amazon.com.
My chapbook, Erasing the Doubt, was published by Finishing Line Press in April, 2015. It is available through Finishing Line Press. I also co-authored a book, A Giving Garden (©2009) along with friend and photographer, Debbie Suggs.
I hope you enjoy what you read here. Please stop in when you can. The Archives go back to 2014, so have fun exploring.
Mary
A Poet in Time 
I find it inspiring that your writing has evolved over the years.
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Great to come upon your site. Really enjoyed reading your work, so good to find someone who understands and appreciates this form. Must admit, I’ve not done so much on the haiku/haiga/haibun front recently, your work has inspired me. Thankyou so much and I’ll be back! All the best, Derek
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Thank you very much, Derek. It’s always wonderful to get a new reader. I’ll be checking your site as well. 🙂
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Mary, your poems are truly inspirational. I think it is very special how fitting your poems are in relation to the pieces of artwork. I just adore how you eloquently describe the art, creating such strong feelings.
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What a very lovely comment. Thank you so much.
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Hi Mary, so many wonderful things here! I’m writing to ask for your permission to use your photo of an attic (posted under “My Attic is Full”) in a little book I’m writing about emotional space. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have about it, but that’s perhaps done best via email. Thank you for your consideration.
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It is not my photograph. It is a picture taken from the internet. If you do a reverse photo search you might be able to find an original source. I could not despite looking. I always mark the correct attribution and seek permission just as you are doing, but this picture didn’t seem to go back to one source. It appears to be from commercial use, but again, no sources. Good luck with your project–sounds interesting.
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