Meditations on Mary, Illustrated with Works by the Old Masters

by Kathleen Norris

The author of Dakota and Cloister Walk offers up her meditation on Mary, collecting sixty images of the mother of Jesus, from Raphael to Leonardo da Vinci--from Virgin, to peasant girl, to anxious parent, to Mother of God. 35,000 first printing.

Genres: Christianity

112 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1999

About the author

Kathleen Norris was born on July 27, 1947 in Washington, D.C. She grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii, as well as on her maternal grandparents’ farm in Lemmon, South Dakota.

Her sheltered upbringing left her unprepared for the world she encountered when she began attending Bennington College in Vermont. At first shocked by the unconventionality surrounding her, Norris took refuge in poetry.

After she graduated in 1969, she moved to New York City where she joined the arts scene, associated with members of the avant-garde movement including Andy Warhol, and worked for the American Academy of Poets.

In 1974, her grandmother died leaving Norris the family farm in South Dakota, and she and her future husband, the poet David Dwyer, decided to temporarily relocate there until arrangements to rent or sell the property could be made. Instead, they ended up remaining in South Dakota for the next 25 years.

Soon after moving to the rural prairie, Norris developed a relationship with the nearby Benedictine abbey, which led to her eventually becoming an oblate.

In 2000, Norris and her husband traded their farmhouse on the Great Plains for a condo in Honolulu, Hawaii, so that Norris could help care for her aging parents after her husband’s own failing health no longer permitted him to travel. Her father died in 2002, and her husband died the following year in 2003.

Reviews

[Willa Guadalupe Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has Kathleen Norris's usual lovely touch. The first half is excerpts of her writing from other books musing on aspects of Mary in the author's life & the second half is the stories of the annunciation, visitation, nativity, visitation of the magi, flight to Egypt, presentation at the Temple, the wedding at Cana and the crucifixion from the bible (both modern & KJV) plus the book is lavishly illustrated with classic paintings of the Blessed Virgin. My only complaint is that there are no Maria Lactans which are my favorite versions of Mary, but I suppose that isn't surprising as Ms. Norris is not a mother herself. This is a sweet & pretty little book & well worth looking at.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

So beautiful.

[Dottie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just casually flipping through the lovely art works grab me into this -- some of the text is from previous books by Norris which I read long ago and will likely enjoy revisiting. It's just a quiet, thought provoking slender volume to dip into -- unless I get greedy and race through it.

Okay, okay, okay. I'm guilty of getting greedy. Leafed through rapidly looking and glancing at art credits. Went through more slowly looking at each art work and reading the entire credit. Some I've seen in person and some I might well have seen but haven't. Enjoyed revisiting the Norris texts from her earlier works placed in relationship to the life of Mary as it unfolds in scriptures. Just what I needed this day.

[Debbie Hoskins]

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