Radio Maria England JUST LIFE - Sally Read – The Mary Pages
Dec 4, 2025
Sally Read, an award-winning British poet and writer based near Rome, explores the profound themes of Marian poetry and personal reflections in her work, The Mary Pages. She shares how early encounters with Marian art shaped her spirituality. Sally discusses Mary's role in her life and reads evocative poems about motherhood, including 'The Quickening' and 'His Face.' She defends Mary against modern criticisms, emphasizing her significance in culture and for mothers, enriching our understanding of the divine through poetic expressions.
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Childhood Image That Shaped Faith
- Sally Read recounts seeing a Raphael imitation of the Madonna in her grandparents' house which quietly shaped her sense of Mary from childhood.
- That painting acted as a constant, unconscious presence that later guided her toward faith and Marian devotion.
Mary Finds People Through Many Mediums
- Marian images survive cultural upheaval and continue to find people even in secular lives.
- Sally Read argues Mary appears through art, apparitions and unexpected places, drawing people toward faith.
Fra Lippi’s Model Became Mary
- Sally tells the story of Fra Lippi using the nun Lucrezia Butti as his model and later living with her and fathering children.
- She finds those paintings sublime despite the morally complex life behind them, showing art's uneasy intersection with human frailty.
