Mad Habits of a Life
by Julie Chappell
In Mad Habits of a Life, Chappell shows the power of poetry to tell a story, deconstruct cultural notions, and leave readers in awe. These poems chronicle the life of a woman who has experienced much as a child growing up in Kansas, a rebellious adolescent in the 1960’s, a literature professor pondering life and its great mysteries, a cancer survivor, and always, as a woman wholly in love with life and all its madness. Sometimes reveling in nature’s terrible beauty, sometimes reminiscing about the past with a mixture of nostalgia and stark realism, Chappell unflinchingly aims for the truth. These accessible, crafted, and curious poems will appeal to readers who have struggled, loved, lost, and triumphed.
Order from any bookstore, local or online. This title is also available from Fleur Fine Books of Galveston, Texas.
About the Author
Julie Chappell was a professor of English who taught medieval and early modern literature and creative writing. Now, she is happily retired and living on Lake Keystone in Oklahoma. Her scholarly writing has focused primarily on women’s lives and texts from the fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Her first poetry collection, Faultlines: One Woman’s Shifting Boundaries, was published by Village Books Press in 2013.