MARY PALMER Spirit of Place Vol. 1 Foreword by Kevan Manwaring Afterword by Anthony Nanson
What do you do when you are torn apart by your ‘selves’? The pilgrim poet, rebel Mordec and tweedy Aelia set sail for Iona – a thin place, an island on the edge. It’s a journey between worlds, back to the roots of their culture. On the Height of Storm they relive a Viking massacre; at Port of the Coracle encounter vipers. They meet Morrighan, a bloodthirsty goddess, and Abbot Dominic with his concubine nuns. There are omens, chants, curses … During her stay Mordec learns that words can heal or destroy, and the poet writes her way out of darkness. A powerful story, celebrating a journey to wholeness, from an accomplished poet.
Iona
POETRY / SPIRITUALITY Royalties to Dorothy House Hospice
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‘Mary Palmer's fluid, adventurous writing constantly frets at the edges of old definitions, old stories, outworn ideas. In Iona, exquisitely crafted poetry challenges us to follow clues and fragments as they twist and turn and interlink to form a spiritual new design of inner deisire. Always truthful, this poetry confronts both beauty and ugliness and makes space for light to slip between the two.’
Rose Flint
'Mary Palmer's Iona is a sacred and interwoven place populated by St Columba, the dark Morrigan, angels, wild geese and puffins. It provides the backdrop for a tense and authentic quest for contemporary wholeness.'
Colin Duriez
'Meet two of the most delightful, moving and wickedly funny characters in poetry – and travel with them and Mary on a spiritual journey that is both deeply profound and at times hilarious. Brilliant, innovative, entertaining and thoughtful.'
Martin Palmer, Alliance of Religions & Conservation
'The evocation of Iona brought tears to my eyes.'
Moyra Caldecott