The photo above is at La La Land recording studios in Louisville, KY. Myself and Ron Whitehead after recording Mary Magdalene Poems, which is just published in print and will soon be in audio.
Discovering that she was no accident and what a hand she had in her own making, in Mary Magdalene Poems Harrell takes off on the theme of “I Predicted Me.” Added to previously unpublished poems is a selection from the critically applauded Particle Pinata Poems. Cover image: Roberto Sanesi, a post card. This collection is a marvelous way to be introduced to Margaret’s Harrell’s poetry.
About to be published, in December 2025, is the second in the series: The Magdalene Poems II. The cover image is taken from Gustav Klimt: detail, The Kiss, cover designs: Deborah Perdue. The book begins:
Ready to go, then
a new era
HERE TO FOUR
God not
in the no anymore
The littlest plot
given volition
the most tiny
the wee OURS
in draft form
Gone with the Wind
And then
A car on a high track
that would be driven extra-fast
out of external reality
How long had he waited?
An unknown one who waited
At tendre
TENderer than any
At TENDRE
In the mind that stretched so far
In the higher mind
That could stretch down to us
To right here
Could we find in this mind
A climb-
MATE
A separation
come to an end
When the pane is seen through
Carrying the rainbow all
S-NOE-P
P-ENelO-P
Ray
D
O
tendre—tender; attendre—to wait (FR)
“The poetry of Margaret Ann Harrel reads like a Zhuangzi of the 21st century, taking its reader through a spiritual Odyssey, where one can hear the cosmic beat in the rhythm of the word play, the pulse of heartfelt mind-blowing experiences revealing a vast span of messages from beyond. It shows the craftmanship of a female shaman who has the power to catch such a dazzling wild and free roaming content into the nets of poems. Here is a . . . a rite de passage initiating its reader into multiversal dimensions, bringing meaning to life where few have been looking to find it . . . a unique treat, a gift from those who know how to sow the seed for what really matters on earth.”
—Chris Van de Velde, who modestly insists in identifying himself only as a Light Looper, Zen novice, Belgium
Ready to go, then“Ready to Go, Then
The Magdalene
Book II
takes off where the Book of Revelation leaves off. But much more than the 28th Book of the Christian New Testament, Margaret Ann Harrell is totally unchained, from tradition, in her rendering of Christ Consciousness. She unleashes a new poetic in her telling of the road to salvation through the valley of the shadow of death to an enlightenment that has finally been illuminated.”
—Ron Whitehead, U.S. National Lifetime Beat Poet Laureate
On Particle Pinata Poems:
“The time of the grandmothers, of the nurturing healing feminine energy has arrived. Patriarchy has sewn destruction long enough. . . In a whirling dance with the creative forces of the universe Harrell draws explicit and implicit lines to Rumi, Blake, Yeats, Joyce, Jung, and others while forging mystical connections with clouds and coastlines, dancing in the borderlands of space and time, of being and not being, of embracing and letting go. And she accomplishes it all in her own distinctly original poetic voice. Through decades of carrying these poems from continent to continent, Margaret Ann Harrell has continued to add new poems and photos, to edit and revise, to transform her self into an ever evolving being, into this masterpiece book. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Go ahead, open the front cover and enter. You’ll never be the same.”—Ron Whitehead
The photo below is with Tim Denevi and John Brick, sharing some fun moments at the 2025 GonzoFest in New Orleans.
