{"product_id":"the-complete-works-of-mattie-mcclane-poetry","title":"The Complete Works of Mattie McClane: Poetry","description":"\u003cp\u003eSt. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, the philosopher, theologian, and Carmelite sister once said, \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Those who seek the truth, seek God whether it is clear to them or not.\" Her words tell the tale\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eof my over 30 years of writing. I revered \"truth\" at a young age because my mother told me as\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ean adage more than a biblical verse that \"the truth will set you free.\" Truth and freedom were\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eprecious ideas to me because I grew up free in a somewhat secluded area, near the banks of\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe Rock River. I walked barefoot on warm tar roads in the summertime, close to nature, and\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe colorful characters who found solace in whiskey and being apart from the mainstream life\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eof the city.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYet, I thought \"truth\" was honesty. My early work is marked with honesty about what I saw, \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewhat I felt, and about desire. Later, \"truth\" meant knowledge. My experience with higher\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eeducation was sometimes good, sometimes rocky, but a path I would follow until I earned\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003edegrees. I went through a time when I read books of quotes, looking for other's wisdom and\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esearching for people who had the most to say about life. From there I put together a library of\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esome of the world's best thinkers. I dearly loved Fuller, Emerson, and Thoreau among others.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReading became a habit and other writing resonated with me, and this also was an attempt to\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ediscover truth. My early work has bits of religious thought. With the creation of Anna Galveo\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ecomes the truth-seeker, a woman whose quest is to find out if the 1957 globe is true aboard a\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e15 th Century sailing ship. The gist of my debut 2003 novel Night Ship is the St. John of the Cross\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003epremise that \"Where there is no love, put love, and love will be drawn out.\" That seemed like\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"truth.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMy work became religious after a health setback, something that was finally diagnosed as \"a\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eviral syndrome.\" Weary, rundown, and feverish, I prayed that if God would heal me, I'd devote\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003emy writing to him. I got better and went on my way, forgetting prayers. Ever so slowly, and I\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003emight say mysteriously, my new work became more and more religious. That's a recount of an\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAmerican novelist, poet, and journalist who found purpose in the pursuit of truth, witnessing\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003epeople, events, and compiling a record in two volumes, one of prose and the other of poetry.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e--M.M. Davenport, Iowa. 2025\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Myrtle Hedge Press","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48515830808825,"sku":"9781732997073","price":34.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/1811\/7625\/files\/imageloader_995a6b96-ccce-44d7-afaf-2c3d4a1b956a.jpg?v=1781209274","url":"https:\/\/hookeandplotte.com\/products\/the-complete-works-of-mattie-mcclane-poetry","provider":"Hooke and Plotte Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}