Mary Rakow

Life

Awards

• 2002 10 Best Books in the West, L.A. Times, 2002
• 2003 Lannan Literary Fellowship
• 2003 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing shortlist
• 2010 Whale and Star residency in the studio of Enrique Martínez Celaya

  Works

• Matthew Biro, Leo A. Harrington, Mary Rakow. Martinez Celaya, Working Methods. Ediciones Poligrafa..
• Mary Rakow.. This Is Why I Came, a novel. Counterpoint Press. .

  Anthology

• Theology

• "Christ's Descent into Hell: Calvin's Interpretation", Religion in Life, 43,

  Reviews

• Now this is a book that dives deep into the wreck, a book in which it is always in question whether Barbara, the protagonist, will ever be able to make sense of the moral evil at the heart of her childhood, an evil she repressed for a very long time. The book is formally daring, it is utterly disinterested in the usual cause-and-effect conceits of traditional mainstream narration, opting instead for a collage of Barbara's perception, memory, and evasion of memory, interspersed with fragments of Paul Celan and the Psalms. This is a harrowing, stunning novel.
• With subtlety, restraint and an extraordinary eye for detail, Rakow has constructed a breathtaking debut.-- starred Publishers Weekly

• Examine it thoroughly: it’s miraculous.
• These stories, both Old and New, are awash in dread and terror and beauty. They aren’t lifeless myths; they are mythic stories once again given flesh and blood.
• The prose is beautiful: mystical, arresting, surprising.