MONAGHAN, (Mary) Patricia 1946-

PERSONAL: Born February 15, 1946, in Brooklyn, NY; daughter of Edward J. (a pilot) and Mary Margaret (a bookkeeper; maiden name, Gordon) Monaghan; married Robert Shea (an author; deceased). Education: University of Minnesota, Duluth, B.A. (cum laude), 1967; University of Minnesota, M.A., 1971; University of Alaska, M.F.A., 1981. Politics: Democrat. Religion: Society of Friends (Quakers).

ADDRESSES: Office—New World Library, 14 Pamaron Way, Novato, CA 94949. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: University of Alaska, Fairbanks, news editor, 1970-72; Model Cities, Minneapolis, MN, reporter for Southside Paper, 1973; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, public relations director, 1974; Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul, MN, editor of Minnesota Monthly, 1974-75; Alaska House of Representatives, Juneau, AK, aide to majority caucus, 1976; Daily News Miner, Fairbanks, women's editor, 1976-77; Tanana Valley Community College, Fairbanks, instructor in English, 1977—; DePaul University, School for New Learning, Chicago, IL, instructor in mythology. Consultant in public relations. Member of board of directors of Tundra Times, 1970-71; founder and director of Fireweed Press, 1975—. Member of board of directors, Women in Crisis, 1976-78; founding mother of Fairbanks Women's Writers Salon, 1981.

MEMBER: Authors Guild, Authors League of America, American Committee for Irish Studies, Phi Kappa Phi.

AWARDS, HONORS: Travel grant, Alaska State Arts Council, 1979; McCracken Award for poetry, University of Alaska, 1979, for "Sedna's Daughters" series; Alaska Fiction Competition award, 1979, for "Slattery's Sheep"; Alaska State Council on the Arts Alaska State Poetry Competition purchase award, 1979, for "In County Mayo," and individual artist award for poetry, 1981.

WRITINGS:

The Book of Goddesses and Heroines, Dutton (New York, NY), 1981, third edition published as The New Book of Goddesses and Heroines, Llewellyn Publications (St. Paul, MN), 1997.

(Editor) Hunger and Dreams (anthology), Fireweed Press (Fairbanks, AK), 1982.

Lessons from the Witch (poems), Amazon Images Press, 1987.

(Editor) Tess Gallacher and Kathy Callaway, Unlacing: Ten Irish-American Women Poets, Fireweed Press (Fairbanks, AK), 1987.

Winter-Burning: Poems, Fireweed Press, 1991 (Fairbanks, AK).

Seasons of the Witch, illustrated by Sudie Rakusin, Delphi (Oak Park, IL), 1992, second edition published with accompanying sound recording as Seasons of the Witch: Poetry and Songs to the Goddess, Llewellyn Publications (St. Paul, MN), 2002.

(Editor) The Next Parish Over: A Collection of Irish-American Writing, New Rivers Press (Minneapolis, MN), 1993.

Working Wisdom: A Guide to the Art and Strategy of Success at Work, HarperSanFrancisco (San Francisco, CA), 1994.

O Mother Sun! A New View of the Cosmic Feminine, Crossing Press (Freedom, CA), 1994.

Magical Gardens: Myth, Mulch, & Marigolds, Llewellyn Publications (St. Paul, MN), 1997.

The Goddess Path: Myths, Invocations, & Rituals, Llewellyn Publications (St. Paul, MN), 1999.

The Goddess Companion: Daily Meditations on the Feminine Spirit, Llewellyn Publications (St. Paul, MN), 1999.

(With Eleanor Viereck) Meditation: The Complete Guide, New World Library (Novato, CA), 1999.

The Office Oracle: Wisdom at Work, Llewellyn Publications (St. Paul, MN), 1999.

Irish Spirit: Pagan, Celtic, Christian, Global, Wolf-hound Press (Dublin, Ireland), 2001.

Dancing with Chaos (poems), Salmon (Cliffs of Moher, Ireland), 2001.

Wild Girls: The Path of the Young Goddess, Llewellyn Publications (St. Paul, MN), 2001.

The Red-Haired Girl from the Bog: The Landscape of Celtic Myth and Spirit, New World Library (Novato, CA), 2003.

The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore, Facts on File (New York, NY), 2003.

(With Carl Colman) The Complete Idiot's Guide to Celtic Wisdom, illustrated by Jody P. Schaeffer, Alpha Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Work represented in anthologies, including Yearbook of American Magazine Verse. Contributor of poems and articles to periodicals, including North American Review, Alaska, and Womanspirit. Founding editor, Friendly Woman, 1974; editor, Envoy; reviewer for Booklist.

SIDELIGHTS: Patricia Monaghan's first published book centers on her feminist spirituality. The Book of Goddesses and Heroines, often considered the definitive reference work on this subject, is an extensive glossary of female deities and mythic women, some well known, others forgotten or purposely obscured by patriarchal mythographers. Part of Monaghan's mission is to reclaim goddesses who have been misnamed, desexed, or thrust into the background as subordinate deities throughout history. "Not only is this a practical and accessible reference tool, it is also a delight to read," commented Library Journal reviewer Cheryl Ryan Harshman. Reviewing The New Book of Goddesses and Heroines, the third edition of this encyclopedia, Library Journal contributor Gail Wood particularly noted the "excellent essay entitled 'Cultures of the Goddess,'" which provides information on the aspects of goddess worship in virtually every civilization. In addition, Wood found the entries themselves "clear, well written and informative" and commended an index that arranges goddesses by their attributes and another that provides name variants.

In books such as Working Wisdom: A Guide to the Art and Strategy of Success at Work and The Goddess Path: Myths, Invocations & Rituals Monaghan offers methods of incorporating divination and other spiritual practices into everyday life. Wild Girls: The Path of the Young Goddess goes deeper, drawing on the stories of twelve goddesses from around the world to provide a "Wiccan manual designed especially for young women," according to a Publishers Weekly reviewer. In addition to providing practical advice on forming healing circles and constructing personal altars, Monaghan draws on myths of powerful goddesses to inspire creativity and self-assurance in her readers.

Monaghan has also had a strong connection to the Irish and their traditions, both in their native land and among the many Irish emigrants. In The Next Parish Over: A Collection of Irish-American Writing she brings together forty-five poems and twenty-four stories that "explore the moral staples of Irish-American life: the Church, alcohol, sexual tyranny, dysfunctional families and death," as a Publishers Weekly reviewer put it. Domineering mothers, illicit sexuality, and the suspicion that all sex is illicit, play themselves out in many of these tales, along with the ubiquitous curse of alcoholism. Others take a more lighthearted look at eccentric godmothers and the sustaining ties of family. The result is a "solid, interesting collection of new voices," concluded the reviewer.

Two more recent books combine Monaghan's love of Irish tradition with her abiding spirituality. The Red-Haired Girl from the Bog: The Landscape of Celtic Myth and Spirit recounts the author's journey through the Irish countryside, noting the important pagan centers and the highlights of the old Celtic calendar. For Booklist reviewer June Sawyers, Monaghan "proves a perfect guide, introducing long-departed ancestors and a land in which the human, the natural, and the divine come together." The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore provides about one thousand entries on Celtic myth and ritual, from Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, and the rest of the Celtic lands, along with an introductory essay on the fundamental aspects of Celtic history and society.

Patricia Monaghan once told CA: "Although I was born in Brooklyn, New York, and spent my early years in Queens, I've lived most of my life in Alaska, which I consider home. Like many Alaskans, however, I've spent years Outside, in my case in Minnesota, where I retain strong professional and personal ties. In 1975 I returned to Fairbanks, living for nearly a year on a homestead seventy miles outside town. That 'bush' experience remains crucial to my writing.

"Both my parents are of Irish descent; much of my mother's family still resides in Bohola, County Mayo. I've traveled in Ireland a number of times and find the English spoken by rural Irish people a continuing source of pleasure and inspiration. I've studied at the Yeats School at Thoor Ballylee, County Galway, and am always thrilled when someone in a Claregalway pub stands up to recite William Butler Yeats—often with little provocation."

Monaghan more recently added, "The feminist spirituality movement continues to inspire not only my nonfiction but my poetry. Currently, I am researching sex rituals from many cultures with an eye to a feminist interpretation of such religions. I am especially interested in the transformational experiences continued in such traditions as Tantric Buddhism."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

periodicals

Anchorage Daily News, February 22, 2004, Anne Hanley, "Patricia Monaghan Embraces Scholarship and Spirituality," p. D7.

Booklist, June 1, 1994, Ray Olson, review of Working Wisdom: A Guide to the Art and Strategy of Success at Work, p. 1742; April 15, 1999, Ray Olson, review of The Goddess Path: Myths, Invocations & Rituals, p. 1488; September 15, 1999, Ray Olson, review of Meditation: The Complete Guide, p. 198; April 1, 2001, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Wild Girls: The Path of the Young Goddess, p. 1458; March 1, 2003, June Sawyers, review of The Red-Haired Girl from the Bog: The Landscape of Celtic Myth and Spirit, p. 1126; April 1, 2003, Donna Seaman, review of Dancing with Chaos, p. 1368.

Chicago Sun-Times, October 12, 1988, "One Woman's Vacationland Is another Woman's Home," p. 32.

Chicago Tribune, July 4, 1993, Annemarie Mannion, "Dieting Dropouts," Tempo Southwest, p. 3.

Library Journal, July 1, 1981, Cheryl Ryan Harshman, review of The Book of Goddesses and Heroines, p. 1405; March 1, 1998, Gail Wood, review of The New Book of Goddesses and Heroines, p. 82; April 1, 2004, Eloise R. Hitchcock, review of The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore.

Publishers Weekly, November 22, 1993, review of The Next Parish Over: A Collection of Irish-American Writing, p. 60; March 12, 2001, review of Wild Girls, p. 81.*