“Even in illness, there is life and love; even with exquisite suffering there is exuberance and abundance.”
Marilyn McVicker holds a life-long commitment to the meaning and power of words. Her fascination with words and self-expression stems from her career in music and life-long family association with Deaf culture. As her health has declined, writing has become her passion. She is determined to focus on what she can do, rather than all that she can no longer do, exhibiting a resilience and a love-of-life that is unflagging.
Featured Work
As for Life
A memoir in poetry exploring the isolation & loss of chronic illness
Marilyn’s full-length volume of poetry, As for Life, centers around the idea that while her illness may be invisible, it is anything but silent. She wrote of her intention, “I wanted to write the book I wish I could have found. I wanted to give voice to my invisible illness; I wanted to give voice to what it feels like to live with chronic illness.”
Poignant and powerful, this book contains stories and moments from Marilyn’s life that are hauntingly raw; a look behind the curtain of chronic health issues in today’s world.
Recently Published
Long Field Hollow
Marilyn’s most recent collection, Long Field Hollow, a chapbook of poetry, is a story of locating and living in a small mountain cove. These 29 pages offer an intimate glimpse into Marilyn’s environment and daily life.
Meet Marilyn
Writer ~ Musician
Learn more about her background, aspirations, accomplishments and quest to live a life full of meaning.
Books
Marilyn’s other published works approach changes in life, health and family, with the need to keep moving forward. Discover for yourself, the vivid accounts and informative perspectives portrayed in her books.
Poems
Many of Marilyn’s poems have been published elsewhere. We invite you to read and listen to some of her work.
“McVicker opens us to the rage and grief, joy and beauty of a life confined to a remote mountain cove in Western North Carolina. I am strengthened, humbled, and inspired by her elegant and honest poems – a resilient life celebrated in poetry.”
– Jennie Boyd Bull, Author, Volunteer with Eldercare Network