Mary Roderick

While I see the world through the eyes of an engineer, my wife Mary loves all of the arts.  I thank her for opening my eyes to another beautiful world.  I have asked her to share some of her poetry, writing and comments in the Writer’s corner of this website.  While I don’t want to set too high a bar for Mary’s writings, I can envision this section blooming into the best part of this website.

Mary has been published in the Los Angeles Times, the Associated Press and the Hawai’i Review among other publications.  She also won a number of contests and awards

At the end of the year awards day, her college teacher and head of the English department, Chris McCarthy, announced to the audience that included the president of the college “Mary Leary Roderick is the best writer I have ever met.”  He then presented her with two awards: the President’s Award and the first Alice Undercoffler Award for power and strength.

Mary developed long friendships with the poet Stanley Kunitz (a two-time United States Poet Laureate) and Professor Ted Hayashi who was a world-renowned specialist on the writer John Steinbeck. 

After President Jimmy Carter completed his term as president, Mary sent him a poem and a letter.  A month later, she was awakened at 7:30 in the morning by President Jimmy Carter’s secretary asking for permission to put the president on the line.  Jimmy Carter came on the line and said that he read and liked her poem.  He subsequently sent her autographed copies of the nine books he wrote thereafter, one per year.

Mary has more articles and experiences to share.  She has an interesting habit of calling or writing to people in the arts that she admires.  This has led to a whole set of interesting experiences.  More to come.