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Mars And Her Children
A selection of poems by the novelist, poet, and essayist deal with the approaching end of the century and the pleasures and problems of modern life
- GenresPoetry20th Century
165 pages, Hardcover
First published April 7, 1992
About the author
Marge Piercy
111 books938 followersMarge Piercy is an American poet, novelist, and social activist. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller Gone to Soldiers, a sweeping historical novel set during World War II.
Piercy was born in Detroit, Michigan, to a family deeply affected by the Great Depression. She was the first in her family to attend college, studying at the University of Michigan. Winning a Hopwood Award for Poetry and Fiction (1957) enabled her to finish college and spend some time in France, and her formal schooling ended with an M.A. from Northwestern University. Her first book of poems, Breaking Camp, was published in 1968.
An indifferent student in her early years, Piercy developed a love of books when she came down with rheumatic fever in her mid-childhood and could do little but read. "It taught me that there's a different world there, that there were all these horizons that were quite different from what I could see," she said in a 1984 interview.
As of 2013, she is author of seventeen volumes of poems, among them The Moon is Always Female (1980, considered a feminist classic) and The Art of Blessing the Day (1999), as well as fifteen novels, one play (The Last White Class, co-authored with her third and current husband Ira Wood), one collection of essays (Parti-colored Blocks for a Quilt), one non-fiction book, and one memoir.
Her novels and poetry often focus on feminist or social concerns, although her settings vary. While Body of Glass (published in the US as He, She and It) is a science fiction novel that won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, City of Darkness, City of Light is set during the French Revolution. Other of her novels, such as Summer People and The Longings of Women are set during the modern day. All of her books share a focus on women's lives.
Woman on the Edge of Time (1976) mixes a time travel story with issues of social justice, feminism, and the treatment of the mentally ill. This novel is considered a classic of utopian "speculative" science fiction as well as a feminist classic. William Gibson has credited Woman on the Edge of Time as the birthplace of Cyberpunk. Piercy tells this in an introduction to Body of Glass. Body of Glass (He, She and It) (1991) postulates an environmentally ruined world dominated by sprawling mega-cities and a futuristic version of the Internet, through which Piercy weaves elements of Jewish mysticism and the legend of the Golem, although a key story element is the main character's attempts to regain custody of her young son.
Many of Piercy's novels tell their stories from the viewpoints of multiple characters, often including a first-person voice among numerous third-person narratives. Her World War II historical novel, Gone To Soldiers (1987) follows the lives of nine major characters in the United States, Europe and Asia. The first-person account in Gone To Soldiers is the diary of French teenager Jacqueline Levy-Monot, who is also followed in a third-person account after her capture by the Nazis.
Piercy's poetry tends to be highly personal free verse and often addresses the same concern with feminist and social issues. Her work shows commitment to the dream of social change (what she might call, in Judaic terms, tikkun olam, or the repair of the world), rooted in story, the wheel of the Jewish year, and a range of landscapes and settings.
She lives in Wellfleet on Cape Cod, Massachusetts with her husband, Ira Wood.
(from Wikipedia)
Piercy was born in Detroit, Michigan, to a family deeply affected by the Great Depression. She was the first in her family to attend college, studying at the University of Michigan. Winning a Hopwood Award for Poetry and Fiction (1957) enabled her to finish college and spend some time in France, and her formal schooling ended with an M.A. from Northwestern University. Her first book of poems, Breaking Camp, was published in 1968.
An indifferent student in her early years, Piercy developed a love of books when she came down with rheumatic fever in her mid-childhood and could do little but read. "It taught me that there's a different world there, that there were all these horizons that were quite different from what I could see," she said in a 1984 interview.
As of 2013, she is author of seventeen volumes of poems, among them The Moon is Always Female (1980, considered a feminist classic) and The Art of Blessing the Day (1999), as well as fifteen novels, one play (The Last White Class, co-authored with her third and current husband Ira Wood), one collection of essays (Parti-colored Blocks for a Quilt), one non-fiction book, and one memoir.
Her novels and poetry often focus on feminist or social concerns, although her settings vary. While Body of Glass (published in the US as He, She and It) is a science fiction novel that won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, City of Darkness, City of Light is set during the French Revolution. Other of her novels, such as Summer People and The Longings of Women are set during the modern day. All of her books share a focus on women's lives.
Woman on the Edge of Time (1976) mixes a time travel story with issues of social justice, feminism, and the treatment of the mentally ill. This novel is considered a classic of utopian "speculative" science fiction as well as a feminist classic. William Gibson has credited Woman on the Edge of Time as the birthplace of Cyberpunk. Piercy tells this in an introduction to Body of Glass. Body of Glass (He, She and It) (1991) postulates an environmentally ruined world dominated by sprawling mega-cities and a futuristic version of the Internet, through which Piercy weaves elements of Jewish mysticism and the legend of the Golem, although a key story element is the main character's attempts to regain custody of her young son.
Many of Piercy's novels tell their stories from the viewpoints of multiple characters, often including a first-person voice among numerous third-person narratives. Her World War II historical novel, Gone To Soldiers (1987) follows the lives of nine major characters in the United States, Europe and Asia. The first-person account in Gone To Soldiers is the diary of French teenager Jacqueline Levy-Monot, who is also followed in a third-person account after her capture by the Nazis.
Piercy's poetry tends to be highly personal free verse and often addresses the same concern with feminist and social issues. Her work shows commitment to the dream of social change (what she might call, in Judaic terms, tikkun olam, or the repair of the world), rooted in story, the wheel of the Jewish year, and a range of landscapes and settings.
She lives in Wellfleet on Cape Cod, Massachusetts with her husband, Ira Wood.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 9, 2024
Where has Marge been all my life
November 10, 2015
This is an interesting collection of poetry in that the last few sections are titled after colors. I tried to make connections between the poems within each color's section but only saw obvious ones in a few such as "Apple sauce for Eve" in the Red section. Another interesting aspect in this collection is Piercy's treatment of an assortment of women's backgrounds: Eve and a homeless widow are discussed in the same collection. I had to stretch my thinking a bit when deeming some poems as worthy feminist reading, so that's why this is only a three-star collection for me personally.
January 26, 2025
stunning. can’t believe she’s not a lesbian.
January 25, 2019
This book was my introduction to Marge Piercy's work. I can hardly wait to read more of her poems. Her poetry is accessible and is guaranteed to capture your emotions and your imagination. Whether she describes "...dancers through time" or "Persimmon pudding" or "The price of the body" you will be enthralled. It deserves an honored place on your night table so you can easily reach it to read and reread.
March 30, 2019
As ever I prefer her observations on people, but her lyric voice was more overtly complex at this period, which I also like.
1970-1990 was a great period for poets who happen to be female.
1970-1990 was a great period for poets who happen to be female.
March 8, 2023
I LOVE this collection. Her soul shines and inspires a love of nature and questioning the mundane
September 19, 2023
Old favorite. (words on Medium)
December 14, 2023
3.5 stars
September 22, 2008
I am a big Marge Piercy fan. More her poetery than her novels, but... This book isn't necessarily my favorite, but I do like the way it is put together -- sectioned into colors. The poems in each section really do evoke a sense of the corresponding color, even when at first, you just aren't sure where she is heading.
February 4, 2008
This book contains some of the most beautiful and meaningful poems I've ever read. The poem about Mars and Her Children is one of my most favorite poems.
June 29, 2008
I learned that I need to check in with my old self. I love this book.
April 7, 2008
You cannot break prose into lines and call it "good poetry." This collection is proof of that.
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December 2, 2016811.54 P618h 1992
June 20, 2007
I kept this one entirely for a single poem, called "A Dirty poem". It's hot, trust me.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews