De los Santos, Marisa 1966–

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De los Santos, Marisa 1966–

PERSONAL: Born 1966; married David Teague; children: Charles, Annabel. Education: University of Virginia, B.A.; Sarah Lawrence College, M.F.A.; University of Houston, Ph.D.

ADDRESSES: Home—Wilmington, DE. Agent—Jennifer Carlson, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary Agency, 27 W. 20th St., Ste. 1003, New York, NY 10011. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: University of Delaware, Newark, DE, former English instructor.

AWARDS, HONORS: Delaware Arts Council grant; Rona Jaffe Writers Award.

WRITINGS:

From the Bones Out: Poems, University of South Carolina Press (Columbia, SC), 2000.

Love Walked In: A Novel, Dutton (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor of poetry to journals, including the Antioch Review, Poetry, Prairie Schooner, Western Humanities Review, Chelsea, and Virginia Quarterly Review.

ADAPTATIONS: A film version of Love Walked In is planned, starring Sarah Jessica Parker, who will co-produce with Michael London Productions.

WORK IN PROGRESS: A novel.

SIDELIGHTS: Marisa de los Santos is a contributor of poetry to literary journals. Her first published collection, From the Bones Out: Poems, was called "crisp and uncanny" by Poetry reviewer Bill Christophersen, who also wrote that "the excellence of this collection begins with its fresh renderings and extends to the way many of the poems segue to form a whole." Christophersen noted four consecutive poems that he felt "trace a cycle of loss, recovery, bitterness, and loss revisited that informs the book." They are "For a Stillborn," "Monologue of One Returned," "Bible Stories," and "Luray Caverns: The Discovery." A Publishers Weekly contributor concluded that the book "offers a formula of hope and clarity when confronting life's trials and tribulations."

Love Walked In: A Novel is de los Santos's contemporary story about a woman who loves film classics. Cornelia Brown manages a café while dreaming of the day that her leading man might enter her life. When Martin Grace comes to the café, she's sure she's found him. In addition to adoring Martin, Cornelia becomes an anchor for Clare, a fifth-grader whose beautiful mother has no time for her daughter. Sarah Lomas, who reviewed the book for MyShelf.com, wrote, "I have not read a book this real and rich in a long time." She also noted that the characters' "ideas, dreams, and fears are eloquently and realistically revealed." A film based on the book will star Sarah Jessica Parker, who will also coproduce with Michael London.