Mary Lou Taylor, Poet Extraordinaire
From The Pen Woman, Fall 2018
By Luanna K. Leisure, Santa Clara County Branch
Mary Lou Taylor, Santa Clara County Branch, was honored as a featured reader for the 40th anniversary celebration of Poetry Center San Jose (PCSJ). She was recognized for her contributions to the center as well as esteemed as a poet extraordinaire.
Taylor began writing poetry when she was 8 years old, inspired by her father, who always read to her. When asked, after a moment of thought, she said, “It’s just in me to write.”
For more than 17 years, Taylor has been a dedicated letters member of the Santa Clara County Branch. With grace and kindness, she has mentored and encouraged many new members as well as poets and her students during her career as a high school teacher.
For 37 years, she has served the Poetry Center San Jose in numerous capacities, including two terms as president. She also participated in open mic poetry readings at the Willow Glen Library and contributed to programs, events, and many fundraising activities.
In 2002, with the encouragement of PCSJ members and the assistance of an attorney friend, a contract was written and accepted by the CEO of History Park, San Jose, to make Markham House the PCSJ headquarters. A historic San José landmark, the Markham House is a Victorian home where the famous poet Edwin Markham lived in the late 1800s. The house is used by PCSJ to host adult and children’s poetry workshops, poetry festivals, and open house events.
Taylor was editor of the Abby Niebauer Memorial competition and currently serves as a trustee emerita of the Center for Literary Arts at San Jose State University.
Throughout her years of writing, she has received honors, awards, and invitations to recite. Her love of poetry becomes contagious to those who see her smile and feel her emotions as she recites from the pages of her books. She is a poet with a keen sense for molding her past experiences into well-crafted poetry.
A native of Chicago, Taylor grew up in Los Angeles, a setting that inspired her first poetry collection, “The Fringes of Hollywood,” published in 2002 by Jacaranda Press. The collection recalls her time living in Tinseltown.
Taylor has several poems in “The Call: An Anthology of Women Writers,” from Dragonfly Press, published in 2009. During her residency at Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, she received her inspiration for writing, “Bringing Home the Moon,” published in 2015 by Aldrich Press.
“Genesis,” her newest book, is still a work in progress, featuring ekphrastic poetry set to 14 paintings of renowned American painter David Park.