Mary Ann Taylor-Hall (born 1937) is an American

fiction writer Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

and poet. She is the author of two novels, a book of short fiction, three collections of poetry, and has published widely in literary journals. She has lived on a farm in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

for many years and was married to poet

James Baker Hall James Baker Hall (April 14, 1935 – June 25, 2009) was an American poet, novelist, photographer and teacher. Biography James Baker Hall was born in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1935. He was raised in a southern family of means and social standing, ...

Biography

Mary Ann Taylor-Hall was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, in 1937. Her family moved to

Winter Haven, Florida Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is fifty-one miles east of Tampa. The population was 49,219 at the 2020 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 estimates, this city had a population of 44,955, making ...

, when she was seven and she received her early education there. She attended

Wesleyan College Wesleyan College is a private, liberal arts women's college in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1836, Wesleyan was the first college in the world chartered to grant degrees to women. History The school was chartered on December 23, 1836, as the Ge ...

, in Macon, Georgia, and graduated with a BA in English from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. She received her MA in English literature from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. Afterwards, she taught at Auburn University, the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

, the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

, and

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. She was married to writer

, who died in 2009. She has lived on a farm on the Harrison-Scott County line in Central

for the past forty years.

Writing

Taylor-Hall's most recent book of poetry, ''Out of Nowhere: New and Selected Poems'', was published in December 2017 by Old Cove Press and is distributed by

Small Press Distribution Small Press Distribution (SPD) is a non-profit literary arts organization located in Berkeley, California. As their name indicates, the core of their mission is to act as an umbrella distributor and marketer for hundreds of smaller literary publi ...

. Two previous collections of poetry, ''Dividing Ridge'' ( Larkspur Press, 2008) and ''Joy Dogs'' (Press on Scroll Road, 2013). were published in handset letterpress limited editions. Her first novel ''Come and Go, Molly Snow'' (

University Press of Kentucky The University Press of Kentucky (UPK) is the scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and was organized in 1969 as successor to the University of Kentucky Press. The university had sponsored scholarly publication since 1943. In 194 ...

, 2009) ( W.W. Norton & Company, 1995) was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection. Her second novel ''At The Breakers'' was published in 2009 by the

. Her collection of short fiction, ''How She Knows What She Knows about Yo-Yos'', (

Sarabande Books Sarabande Books is an American not-for-profit literary press founded in 1994. It is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, with an office in New York City. Sarabande publishes contemporary poetry and nonfiction. Sarabande is a literary press whos ...

, 2000) was a Foreword Magazine Book of the Year. Her work has been published in ''

The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Phil ...

'', ''

The Kenyon Review ''The Kenyon Review'' is a literary magazine based in Gambier, Ohio, US, home of Kenyon College. ''The Review'' was founded in 1939 by John Crowe Ransom, critic and professor of English at Kenyon College, who served as its editor until 1959. ' ...

'', ''

The Sewanee Review ''The Sewanee Review'' is an American literary magazine established in 1892. It is the oldest continuously published quarterly in the United States. It publishes original fiction and poetry, essays, reviews, and literary criticism. History ''T ...

'', ''

Ploughshares ''Ploughshares'' is an American literary journal established in 1971 by DeWitt Henry and Peter O'Malley in The Plough and Stars, an Irish pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since 1989, ''Ploughshares'' has been based at Emerson College in Bos ...

'', '' Shenandoah'' and other literary quarterlies, and has been anthologized in ''

The Best American Short Stories The Best American Short Stories yearly anthology is a part of ''The Best American Series'' published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Since 1915, the BASS anthology has striven to contain the best short stories by some of the best-known writers in con ...

'' and in the book ''Home and Beyond: An Anthology of Kentucky Short Stories'', edited by Morris A. Grubbs (

, 2001). She is the recipient of a PEN/Syndicated Fiction Award and has received grants from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

and the

Kentucky Arts Council The Kentucky Arts Council, established in 1966, is the Kentucky state arts agency, and is responsible for developing and promoting support for the arts in Kentucky. Part of the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, the Kentucky Arts Council ...

Publications

Fiction

*''At The Breakers'' (

, 2009) *''How She Knows What She Knows about Yo-Yos'' (

, 2000) *''Come and Go, Molly Snow'' ( W.W. Norton & Company, 1995) (

, 2009)

Poetry

*''Out of Nowhere: New and Selected Poems'' (Old Cove Press, 2017)

*''Joy Dogs'' (Press on Scroll Road, 2013) *''Dividing Ridge'' ( Larkspur Press, 2008)

Nonfiction

* ''Missing Mountains'' (Wind Publications, 2005) with

Bobbie Ann Mason Bobbie Ann Mason (born May 1, 1940) is an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and literary critic from Kentucky. Her memoir was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Early life and education A child of Wilburn and Christina Mason, Bobb ...

and Kristin Johannsen

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor-Hall, Mary Ann 1937 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists Novelists from Kentucky Novelists from Chicago Poets from Chicago People from Winter Haven, Florida 20th-century American poets 21st-century American poets 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers Female models from Kentucky 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers

Biography

Writing

Publications

Fiction

Poetry

Nonfiction

Further reading

References