I would not have made it to this point in my life, sane as I like to think I am, without the frequent opportunity to be transported to another life. Literature and poetry help me become grounded, escape what needs to be left for awhile or forever, find sage advice, connect with the inner selves of people like me and people very different and, of course, to dream.
And increasingly, the need to read the words written by people in my own age becomes challenging. Much good to read, but oh, to hear from those with the years of experience that leads to wisdom.
What an absolute treat then, when Persimmon Tree appeared. A challenge for those of us who prefer to touch and feel the paper we are reading, but still a remarkable assemblage of creativity and talent by women over 60. To quote the editors, “Many women are at the height of their creative abilities in their later decades and have a great deal to contribute. Persimmon Tree is committed to bringing this wealth of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art to a broader audience, for the benefit of all.”
Okay, sometimes I print it and sometimes I email the magazine and beg for the inclusion of a one button option that would print the whole thing, but that is me and their offerings are great. Some of the authors and artists have fame from the past and it will feel like a step into a scrapbook of sorts and some are delightful new finds.
Go find it — you’ll even be able to read their library that dates back to the grand beginning — Spring of 2007. No cost. Quarterly. Immerse yourself.
The new issue, Summer 2009, includes in the nonfiction section, the following offerings, by decade, of sagely wonder aimed at the experience of entering the next decade –
Vivian Gornick Turning Sixty
Sandra Butler Tiptoeing Toward Seventy
Dorothy Bryant Pushing Eighty-Still Pushing Books
Roussel Sargent Reaching Ninety
Katherine Bradway On Approaching My Hundreth Year