Mary's Dust

Poetry. Music. Women's Studies. Music by Lori Goldston. Unsettling the stories of thirty-two historic Marys, the poems in MARY'S DUST startlingly reconfigure what we thought we knew about confinement and loss, liberation and love. With their variety of inventive and traditional forms, these poems offer testament to the strength of women creating their own narratives.

This book includes a digital download of a new work by cellist Lori Goldston and over thirty minutes of Melinda Mueller reading selections from MARY'S DUST.

Classically trained and rigorously de- trained, possessor of a restless, semi- feral spirit, Lori Goldston is a cellist, composer, improvisor, producer, writer, and teacher from Seattle. Her voice as a cellist, amplified or acoustic, is full, textured, committed, and original. Best known for her work with Nirvana, Earth, and the Black Cat Orchestra, she is a relentless inquirer and wanders recklessly across borders that separate genre, discipline, time, and geography, performing in clubs, cafés, galleries, arenas, concert halls, sheds, ceremonies, barbecues, and stadiums. You can listen to and learn more about Lori's work at her site, www.lorigoldston.com.

Melinda Mueller's great gift is translating historical detail and scientific fact into profound human experience. Long-awaited, MARY'S DUST is a tour de force, a klatch of history's Marys speaking through a stunning array of formal constraints--much as they did in life. Each Mary emerges from Mueller's precise and brilliant word choice and imagery to linger with a faint ringing. Mary's Dust is an ambitious, awe-inspiring, marvelous collection. -- Kathleen Flenniken