The Collected Poems of Mary Catherine Kirtley Young, 1975-2015

Mary Catherine Kirtley Young wrote her first poem to her mother at age twelve.

She grew up in Bardstown, a small town in Kentucky, in a much simpler time, with the world of nature all around her. She studied classical literature and her grandmother's McGuffey's Fifth Reader, and Shakespeare was always prominent. As she is fond of saying, "Nothing is as indelible as those early years."

Despite her deep love of Shakespeare and all things literary, however, Mary Catherine believes that life itself — with all its joys and sorrows — is our greatest teacher. She has keenly observed the ups and downs of her own life and, for the last four decades, has put pen to paper to record the experiences and emotions of her own life through poetry.

Now in her late years, Mary Catherine has collected her poems into this "bouquet" to share with her family, friends, and all who — like her — enjoy the simple pleasure of writing, reading, and identifying with a well-written poem.

Back cover quotes:

"Poets utter great and wise things which they do not themselves understand."
—Plato

"A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language."
—W.H. Auden

"Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood."
—T.S. Eliot

"They learn in suffering what they teach in song."
—Percy Bysshe Shelley

"Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words."
—Robert Frost

"Truth shines the brighter clad in verse."
—Alexander Pope

About the Author

Mary Catherine Kirtley Young was born in Louisville, Kentucky. She grew up in Bardstown, Kentucky, and graduated with honors from Bethlehem Academy. She also graduated with honors from Nazareth Junior College and, later in life, graduated cum laude from Spalding University with a bachelor of arts degree in English literature and a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy. She received her certification in handwriting analysis from the International Graphoanalysis Society in Chicago, Illinois, and is a member of the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels.