Life and works of writer May Sarton, one of 20th century's best journal-keepers, famous for Journal of a Solitude and Plant Dreaming Deep.
American author May Sarton is one of the best-known memoirists of the 20th century. She is famous for Journal of Solitude and I Knew a Phoenix, among others. Her other best-known work is Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing.
Sarton was a prolific writer, a novelist and poet, whose numerous books and collection of poetry were critically acclaimed and widely read. Her work explores the complicated emotions of life, most especially friendships and the solitary life.
Early Years
Eleanor Marie Sarton was born on May 3, 1912, in Wondelgem, Belgium, daughter of George Sarton, a historian of science and a painter, and mother, Eleanor Mabel Elwes. Her family fled to the United States during World War I when May was only four years old. She was an only child.
Her family being well-connected, Sarton was a regular visitor to Europe, where she met Virginia Woolf and the Anglo-Irish writer Elizabeth Bowen.
Gifted Poet
Gifted with poetry, Sarton published several poems by the time she was 17. Most interested in the theatre, she studied drama, and later, founded the Apprentice Theatre. When it closed in 1936, she focused on writing. By this time, she was in her mid-20s. Sarton's first collection of poems, Encounter in April, was published when she was 25, followed by few more collections.
Educator
Over the course of her career, Sarton taught at several colleges and universities, including Harvard University, Bread Loaf, and Wellesley College.
Memoirist and Novelist
Sarton's memoirs and journals, including Plant Dreaming Deep and Journal of Solitude, combine details of everyday domestic life with reflections that convey her wisdom and talent in writing. She focused on the lives of women, in particular, her friends, fictional characters, and herself – exploring women's friendships, lesbianism and women's creativity. In later years, she also explored illness and aging, both in her memoirs and novels.
Final Years
Sarton died on July 16,1995. She spent her last years in York, Maine, living and writing by the sea. She valued her time alone, but also treasured her friendships, and enjoyed receiving visitors. She survived surgery to remove her breast cancer (although eventually died of it), and a stroke. She wrote poignantly about her recovery in one of her last journals, After the Stroke.
Selected Works by May Sarton
- Encounter in April, poetry, 1937
- Inner Landscape, poetry, 1939
- The Land of Silence, poetry, 1953
- In Time Like Air, poetry, 1957
- I Knew a Phoenix, 1959
- Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing, novel, 1965
- Plant Dreaming Deep, journal, 1968
- Journal of a Solitude, 1973
- Halfway to Silence, poetry, 1980
- The Single Hound, novels, 1938
- The Bridge of Years, novels, 1946
- Shadow of a Man, novel, 1950
- The House by the Sea: a Journal, 1977
- Recovering: A Journal, 1980
- The Magnificent Spinster, novel, 1985
- After the Stroke, journal, 1988
- Coming into Eighty, poetry, 1993
Sources:
Cambridge Guide to Women's Writing in English by Lorna Sage, CUP (1986)
Illustrated Biographical Dictionary, edited by John Clark, Chancellor Press (1994)
Larousse Dictionary of Writers, edited by Rosemary Goring (1994)
