What She Was Saying
In these powerful stories, What She Was Saying softens the already thin line between hope and hopelessness, between perseverance and despair, between what can and cannot be said. A finalist for the Katherine Anne Porter and Eludia book awards—as well as a semifinalist for Black Lawrence Press’s Hudson, Eastern Washington University’s Spokane, and Leapfrog Press’s book prizes—What She Was Saying gives voice to the lives we all need to hear.
Praise for What She Was Saying From the ingenious title to the last story, What She Was Saying is a study of the gap between the covert and the overt. Alienation, isolation, desperation are here writ both small and large; their echo is a humanistic plea for inclusiveness, community, friendship, and simple love and kindness, one to another. Wonderfully crafted, honest, and bold, Marjorie Maddox's work always brings her readers to new levels of perceptiveness about the big picture as well as minute moments. —Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Ahab's Wife and The Fountain of St. James Court, or Portrait of the Artist as an Old Woman
This collection reveals a beguiling new voice in contemporary fiction. . . . Maddox’s stories open up unexpected, little noticed corners of our world. . . . Some read like fables; some surprise with bold humor. All celebrate the mystery of the familiar, the strangeness of the ordinary, and the humanity of marginal lives. —Robert Morgan, author of Gap Creek
"These are luscious stories, packed with unflinching honesty and the earthshaking kind of beauty that makes us brave." —Fiona Cheong, author of Scent of the Gods and Shadow Theatre
About Marjorie Maddox (Williamsport, Pennsylvania Author)
Sage Graduate Fellow of Cornell University (MFA) and Professor of English and Creative Writing at Lock Haven University, Marjorie Maddox has published eleven collections of poetry—including True, False, None of the Above (Poiema Poetry Series and Illumination Book Award medalist); Local News from Someplace Else; Wives' Tales; Transplant, Transport, Transubstantiation (Yellowglen Prize); and Perpendicular As I (Sandstone Book Award)—the short story collection What She Was Saying (Fomite Press), and over 500 stories, essays, and poems in journals and anthologies. Co-editor of Common Wealth: Contemporary Poets on Pennsylvania (Penn State Press), she also has published four children’s books: A Crossing of Zebras: Animal Packs in Poetry, Rules of the Game: Baseball Poems ; A Man Named Branch: The True Story of Baseball's Great Experiment (middle grade biography); and Inside Out: Poems on Writing and Reading Poems + Insider Exercises. The recipient of numerous awards in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, she also is the great grandniece of Branch Rickey, the manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers who helped break the color barrier by signing Jackie Robinson. She gives readings and workshops across the country at libraries, elementary schools, universities, book stores, and community centers. For more information, please see www.marjoriemaddox.com
She grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and has made her home in Louisville, Kentucky; Ithaca, NY; and Wheaton, Illinois.