Mary Rose O'Reilley

Mary Rose O'Reilley is an American poet, novelist, and writer of non-fiction.

Life
O'Reilley was born in Pampa, Texas, and educated in Roseville and Saint Paul, Minnesota. She was raised a Catholic and is now a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). She has spent time in Buddhist practice, in particular under Thich Nhat Hanh. She graduated from the College of St. Catherine and completed her Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.

From 1978 to 2006, she taught English and environmental studies at the College/University of St. Thomas.

O'Reilley lives on an island in Puget Sound.

Awards

 * 2005 Walt Whitman Award
 * Contemplative Studies Grant from the American Council of Learned Societies
 * Bush Artist Grant
 * McKnight Award of Distinction
 * 2018 Brighthorse Prize for the novel (Bright Morning Stars)

Non-fiction

 * The Garden at Night. Heinemann
 * Radical Presence. Heinemann
 * Radical Presence. Heinemann