I used to wonder if there would be more books from Mary Kellogg, the wonderful poet from North Hebron. She was into her 80’s and I thought she might tire of the writing process, of the deadlines and readings. I don’t wonder about that any more, I would not be at all surprised if Mary wrote a dozen more volumes of poetry, her mind and soul are made of steel, her heart nourishes the radiance that always comes from her.

This Open House, a theme of art and poetry. Three other poets are coming, Doug Anderson, Tom Atkins, Kate Rantilla. We are happy to celebrate poetry, it is experiencing a great resurgence in America, especially among the young. Mary Kellog is a symbol to both of us not only of the poetic spirit, but the creative spirit.

Mary never showed her work to anyone until she and I met, and I am sometimes haunted by this. How many books would she have published if she had shown her work to someone, if someone had encouraged her. You don’t need a graduate degree to do good work with your mind, Mary reminds us of the power of encouragement and the strength of the creative spark.