Mary Volmer
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Essays and Short Fiction

I reserve the right to change my mind...

The best historical novels about badass 19th century American women 

I hope you have as much fun reading these books as I did! Find the link HERE. 

The Gospel Of Cantaloupe 

An essay about sisterhood, racism, blind self-interest, remorse, and love in Arc Digital. Republished in The Common Politic. 

Mrs. Thomas 

Short fiction in Arc Digital -  (first published in The Farallon Review)

Review of  King of Cuba, by Cristina Garcia, directed by Gary Graves 


Communal Guilt, Justice, and Grace 

An essay published in The Common Politic and republished by The Good Men Project. 

The Tourist, the Expat, and the Native: A Traveler’s Approach to Crafting Historical Fiction

How do we navigate, and then translate, the past’s lost and often foreign landscape in a way that engages readers and conveys a sense of immediacy and authenticity?  As good travelers.
 Fiction Writers Review; reprinted in the Historical Novel Society Review

Writing as Laborious Play

An essay in Brevity about the traits athletes and writers share in common.

You Are Not The Special One: A Letter to My Son

An essay in MUTHA Magazine. Republished by The Good Men Project. 
​"You are a special one. That’s true. You will always be my special one. But you are not the special one."

Review of Hari Kunzru's White Tears in the New Orleans Review


Review of Louise Marburg's No Diving Allowed in Fiction Writers Review 


Review of  #GetGhandi, a Seriously Radical Feminist Comedy,  by Ann Galjour, directed by Nancy Carlin  


Review of Richard Bausch's Living in the Weather of the World in Ploughshares. 


Into The Lake

A talk given at the 2018 Festival of Women Writers in Berkeley, CA 

A Short History of My Breasts
An essay in Mutha Magazine 

Yep, an essay about breasts, breastfeeding, social mandates, female bodies, and the beautiful and unexpected interdependence of mother and child.

"We" Are Not Pregnant 

Mutha Magazine July 2014
About the physical and emotional burden of pregnancy and the impossibility of sharing the experience.


By Stories I Know You 

My Mother's Day tribute "By Stories I Know You" on bookreporter.com 

Fruitful Territory

Why women's history is fruitful territory for fiction writers.
 Saint Mary's Magazine, July 2016 ​

Sage Advice For Traveling Abroad With a Toddler

For anyone who has ever traveled a great distance with a little person (or is thinking about doing so). 
Originally published on www.worldleap.co, fall 2016  
Read it here...

Canyon
Orlando Prize Finalist, published in The Farallon Review Spring 2012 


Fashionably Late
This I Believe Series, 2009

How marrying a colorblind man made me more adventuresome in art and fashion.
For more...

Nana's Library
Open To All (2007) ed. Molly Fisk--an anthology benefiting Nevada County Libraries

I wrote about my nana’s library for an anthology benefitting the Nevada County Libraries. 
For more...


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  • Home
  • Books
    • Reliance, Illinois >
      • How I came to Write Reliance, Illinois
    • Crown of Dust >
      • How I Came to Write Crown of Dust
    • Bibliographies
  • Writing
    • Blog
  • About Mary
    • News and Interviews
    • contact
    • CV >
      • Links
  • Sketches
  • Alta Mesa Center for the Arts
    • Alta Mesa Center Reading Series
    • AMCA Writing Workshops
    • Alta Mesa Writers >
      • Teaching Philosophy