{"product_id":"grogan","title":"Used Envelopes | Ann Grogan","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Garamond',serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; color: #222222; background: white;\"\u003eIn Ann Grogan’s dynamic and richly layered debut collection \u003ci\u003eUsed Envelopes\u003c\/i\u003e, Grogan weaves a narrative of celebration: of aging, music, political activism, poetry, and of life itself. A retired lawyer and pianist living vibrantly in her 80s, Grogan’s hunger for a life fully lived is explored in each of her beautifully wrought poems. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Garamond',serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; color: #222222; background: white;\"\u003eIn her poem “Amazement”, Grogan seeks to understand fulfillment with a delicacy displayed in masterful internal rhyming: \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0in .5in;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Garamond',serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; color: #222222; background: white;\"\u003eTime will tell, give all things \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0in .5in;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Garamond',serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; color: #222222; background: white;\"\u003eand take away in cosmos time, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0in .5in;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Garamond',serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; color: #222222; background: white;\"\u003enot mine. The more we pine, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0in .5in;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Garamond',serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; color: #222222; background: white;\"\u003ethe farther things move away \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0in .5in;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Garamond',serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; color: #222222; background: white;\"\u003efrom our wants, burning or just started; \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0in .5in;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Garamond',serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; color: #222222; background: white;\"\u003emartyred we, upon those coals of hot desire. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Garamond',serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; color: #222222; background: white;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Garamond',serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; color: #222222; background: white;\"\u003eInfluenced by Mary Oliver, Emily Dickinson, and Edna St.Vincent Millay, her three “goddesses”, Grogan’s infuses her poems in brightness and beauty, lambasts ageism, political apathy and injustice, and calls out into the world with passion, curiosity, and joy.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in; line-height: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Garamond',serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; color: #222222; background: white;\"\u003e--Meghan Sterling, Author of \u003ci\u003eSick Letters from the Lovebed\u003c\/i\u003e (Small Harbor Publishing)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: normal;\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Garamond',serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; color: #222222; background: white;\"\u003eUsed Envelopes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Garamond',serif; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e is a carefully crafted celebration of age and rage. There is no doubt about what Grogan means to say, and her poetry refuses to lean on pretty words to disguise the point. Rebelliously joyful, \u003ci\u003eUsed Envelopes\u003c\/i\u003e is a testament to the magic of the feminine, past and future, with all the confident vigor of a white-haired woman drinking an apple martini on a city terrace simply because she can. I will follow Ann Grogan’s name anywhere. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in; line-height: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Garamond',serif; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e--Leah Skay, Poetry Editor of \u003ci\u003eThe Bloomin’ Onion\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: justify; line-height: normal;\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: justify; line-height: normal;\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Garamond',serif;\"\u003eUsed Envelopes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Garamond',serif;\"\u003e is a collection that skillfully utilizes intertextuality, extended metaphor, and \u003cspan class=\"gmail-il\"\u003eAnn\u003c\/span\u003e Grogan’s iconic wit to challenge the expectations placed on aging and identity. From piano lessons, to her passions for poetry, Grogan doesn’t shy away from telling you exactly who she is and what she wants. This collection encourages readers to do the same while stressing the importance of remaining open to possibility at every “stage” of life. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; line-height: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Garamond',serif;\"\u003e--Amelia Riley, poet and editor of \u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Garamond',serif; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;\"\u003eWhims of the Wilderness\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Garamond',serif; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e_____________________________________________\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: normal;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype',serif;\"\u003eAnn Grogan\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype',serif;\"\u003e is a joyful octogenarian, pianophile, and retired lawyer who lives in San Francisco, CA. Her writing promotes the unequivocal permission to pursue one’s passions at any age. Her poems have appeared in \u003ci\u003eQuerencia, Amethyst Review, The Prairie Review, Dissent Voice, \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eWriters Resist\u003c\/i\u003e, among others. Her poem “Used Envelopes” was nominated by the editors of \u003ci\u003eBloomin’ Onion \u003c\/i\u003efor “Best of the Net 2026” (Sundress Press). She was named a semifinalist for The Writing Salon’s 2025 Jane Underwood Poetry Prize and for Leftie Blondie’s chapbook competition. Find Ann at \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/rhapsodydmb.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype',serif; color: windowtext;\"\u003erhapsodydmb.com\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype',serif;\"\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New';\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"dancing girl press \u0026 studio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46269682876463,"sku":null,"price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0719\/1219\/files\/used_envelopes_8.png?v=1790798068","url":"https:\/\/dulcetshop.myshopify.com\/products\/grogan","provider":"dancing girl press \u0026 studio","version":"1.0","type":"link"}