As with a steady hand sewing scraps of cloth into a beautiful quilt, so does Marjorie Pagel weave memory and story into a literary landscape of poetry and prose.
Marjorie Pagel’s beautifully-written collection of insights, images, and striking moments of spirituality comes as a welcome gift to all of us who are seeking respite from the world’s prevailing despair.
—Marilyn L. Taylor Wisconsin Poet Laureate, 2009-2010
*cover art by Matthew Pasersky
ABOUT THE BOOK
An intimate and honest look into the life of a mother, sister, daughter, and storyteller. Marjorie Pagel speaks plainly about her life throughout the years. But her prose is never plain, her poetry never overstated. Myles Hopper calls Pastiche “a refreshing, unembellished style” and Maya Stein says “what … shines through is a humbleness and gratitude for the people, environments, and circumstances that have shaped and enriched that life.”
Publication Date: October 15, 2024 | Price $12.99 | ISBN: 9798987351710
104 pages | Paperback | Category: Memoirs, Poetry, Prose
AUTHOR BIO
MARJORIE PAGEL sharpened her writing skills on articles for a community newspaper and has since published fiction, poetry, and essays. Six of her one-act plays have been produced at community theaters. She is a member of the Wisconsin Writers Association and the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets. Her work appears in Creative Wisconsin and The Sun Magazine, and in her previous books, The Romance of Anna Smith and Other Stories and Where I’m From: Poems and Stories.
MORE ADVANCED PRAISE
for Pastiche: a memoir in poetry and prose
As I read the stories in this collection, I kept looking up expecting to see Marjorie herself sitting across from me, asking if I’d like a little more coffee, then taking a breath before breaking into another story. Yes to more coffee, I’d say, and yes to more stories because you can’t read just one without wanting to hear more. Told in a tell it like it is, matter of fact voice, Marjorie parts the curtain, allowing us to experience the world and the people she has come from, and what she has learned along the way. This is sound storytelling from a writer who doesn’t miss a thing. —LAURIE WAGNER, writer and host of 27powers.org (27powers.org)
Reading Marjorie’s collection feels like opening the drawer of a spice rack – such marvelously tasty adventures greet you the moment you twist open the cap. The writing is imbued with Marjorie’s clear zest for life, but what also shines through is a humbleness and gratitude for the people, environments, and circumstances that have shaped and enriched that life. You can’t help but feel a pep in your heart as you make your way through the savory buffet of Pastiche. — MAYA STEIN, writer & creative adventuress, Poet Laureate of Belfast, Maine (www.mayastein.com)
By turns poignant and revealing, Marjorie Pagels’ Pastiche: A Memoir in Poetry and Prose offers glimpses into the author’s rich and varied life in Wisconsin. With charming black and white illustrations, Pastiche is a rewarding read. One observation sums it up: “You know what it is to cherish what you have, to enjoy each moment as it comes.” A final poem, “When I Die,” sums it up in a similar way: “Just a sweet savoring of the minutes at hand. — ED BLOCK is Emeritus Professor of English at Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI. His most recent collection of poems, Banners of Longing, appeared in 2024.
In detailing a range of experiences in her life, Marjorie Pagel helps us see how and why the daily chores, struggles, and joys she once thought commonplace, she now regards “with reverence.” With her as guide, I found myself growing not only in appreciation of her sense of adventure, but also in appreciation of the “everyday miracles” of my own life. — MARGARET ROZGA, Wisconsin Poet Laureate, 2019-2020, and author of five full-length poetry collections, including her most recent publication, Restoring Prairie.
Marjorie Pagel’s Pastiche is packed full of wisdom. Through these essays and poems, Pagel has dug deep and found rich insights and hard-won joy. Pagel’s ability to reflect on her experiences inspires me to grab my own journal. Readers who’ve tried to make sense of their growing up years as well as the changes and chances of life will find a kindred spirit in these pages. — ROCHELLE MELANDER, writing coach and author of Mightier than The Sword: Rebels, Reformers, and Revolutionaries Who Changed the World through Writing (writenowcoach.com)
With Pastiche, Marjorie Pagel once again offers her readers a collection of sensitive and deeply introspective prose and poetry written with her characteristic unflinching honesty and in her refreshingly unembellished style. — MYLES HOPPER, author of My Father’s Shadow
In her new Pastiche, a collection of poems and prose, Marjorie Pagel is at her best — wisely and gently, but also humorously, taking the commonplace and, in her words, regarding it with reverence. — RONNIE HESS, is a poet who has served on the Boards of the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets, the Friends of Lorine Niedecker, and the Wisconsin Poet Laureate Commission.
Marjorie Pagel’s beautifully-written collection of insights, images, and striking moments of spirituality comes as a welcome gift to all of us who are seeking respite from the world’s prevailing despair. — MARILYN TAYLOR, Wisconsin Poet Laureate, 2009-2010
At a time when it seems all our heroes must be super, Marjorie Pagel finds the heroic in an ordinary life. — JENNIFER RUPP writes historical fiction under the pen name, Jennifer Trethewey. She is an actor-turned-writer who has moved her performances from the state to the page, translating her love for Scotland into her series of historical romance novels, the Highlanders of Balforss, featuring brawny Scots, sweeping romance, and non-stop adventure, all laced with a liberal dose of humor.
In this new collection of tightly crafted, intimate, and poignant prose and poetry, Marjorie Pagel unpacks moments from her own life that reveal greater truths about family, relationships, and resilience. These gentle insights into her own and her family’s challenges inspire understanding and joy. — BRUCE CAMPBELL, MD, author of A Fullness of Uncertain Significance: Stories of Surgery, Clarity, and Grace
Pastiche is an elaborate tapestry woven from thoughts, stories, and poems from a writer who values the sanctity of moments spent with people who crisscross our lives. It is a playful mix of prose and poetry that serves to remind us that, collectively, our stories shape who we are and tell us where we’ve been. — JIM LANDWEHR, author of Tea in the Pacific Northwest, Thoughts from a Line at the DMV, and At The Lake
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