My Place on Earth

About the Book

My Place On Earth is the first book to be published by Bedlam Farm Books, and we couldn’t be prouder.

Mary Kellogg has been writing poems since she was eleven years old, and until recently she kept them to herself. Even her oldest and closest friends didn’t know about her poetry.

Several years ago, that changed. Mary wrote me a typewritten letter asking if she and some “lady friends” of many years could come and visit Bedlam Farm. “We are a quiet group,” she assured me. This was not true. They were quite outspoken.

We became friends. She told me about her poetry, and showed it to me. I was much affected by its clarity, elegance and poignance. I knew I was reading some powerful, and meaningful.

Mary has been cranking out poems at a pretty steady pace since then. Her poetry has graced my last three books, and she has come out as a poet, in an outpouring of moving and beautiful work. Her writing is remarkable. Mary’s poems reflect the grace, wisdom and truth-telling that characterize her life.

She writes powerfully about her memories, her tragedies, and her boundless hope and faith. Mary came to the farm once morning for a meeting with me and Maria Heinrich, the editor of Bedlam Farm Books. She told us she was quite aware of her place in life, and of the fact that, nearing 80, she didn’t have forever to make up for lost time with her poetry. Her poems, she told us, are about finding “my place on earth.” Maria and I looked at each other, and we knew we had a title, as well as a theme for this collection of Mary’s terrific work.

The book includes an introduction by me, an essay by Mary, and a number of my photographs. I can’t think of a better work to kick off Bedlam Farm Books, or a more worthy human to produce it. We plan appearances in several Northeastern states, and sales online and in a number of bookstores. The book is being published in conjunction with the Troy Bookmakers of Troy, N.Y., and we are grateful for the assistance and guidance given us by Melissa.

More than anything, I am grateful for Mary. She and her poems are a true light, a signal to the world that the inner presence in so many of us can emerge at any point in life.

Where to Buy

My Place on Earth will be available for sale in the summer of 2008 and can be purchased from the Troy Bookmakers, Red Fox Books, Battenkill Books, the Troy Bookshop, Northshire Books and at bookstores everywhere. Photos can be purchased at All The Right Angles framing shop in Saratoga Springs, New York (518-587-4320).

A portion of all proceeds will go to benefit hospice.

Bedlam Farm Books

My Place on Earth is the first publication of a new imprint, Bedlam Farm Books, published by Jon Katz and edited by Maria Heinrich.

Bedlam Farm Books will soon be publishing Out of the Shadows, a collection of writing and photo selections from Jon Katz's personal website and blog, BedlamFarm.com. Other books in the works include a book about the dog Izzy and Washington County’s Hospice program, a book on restoration by Bill and Maria Heinrich, and a collection of essays and poems from students at Granville, New York High School.