The Wood That Will Be Used

<p>Mary Leader's<em> The Wood That Will Be Used</em> is a tour de force exemplifying what results from a lifetime of labor in the word a lifetime of one's poring over rich literary texts and of one's developing the habit of one's offering answering texts; it also manifests a capacious mind shaped by wit by candor and by a keen eye. Receiving the matter prepared for her she has shaped a beautiful structure that will serve her and us for the journey beyond. If Philip Larkin and H.D. were to have been blessed with a literary child that child would be Mary Leader. -Scott Cairns</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>From reviews of Mary Leader's previous work <em>The Distaff Side</em> (Shearsman Books 2022):</p><p><br></p><p><em>The Distaff Side</em> is a fascinating multi-layered book beautiful to hold and to read. -Mandy Pannett for <em>Tears in the Fence</em></p><p><br></p><p>The final spindle ends in a cipher: the word 'Mother' in decorative capitals with a floral sprig beneath it: a device that might appear on a transfer sheet for embroidery - or on a headstone. -Anna Reckin </p>