Mary Caroline Richards (July 13, 1916, Weiser, Idaho – September 10, 1999, Kimberton, Pennsylvania) was an American poet, potter, and writer best known for her book ''Centering: in Pottery, Poetry and the Person''.Smith, Roberta

''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', September 20, 1999. Accessed March 29, 2010. Educated at

Reed College Reed College is a private university, private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland, Portland, Oregon, Eastmoreland neighborhood, with Tudor style architecture ...

, in Portland, Oregon, and at the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...

, she taught English at the

Central Washington College of Education Central Washington University (CWU) is a public university in Ellensburg, Washington. Founded in 1891, the university consists of four divisions: the President's Division, Business and Financial Affairs, Operations, and Academic and Student Li ...

and the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

, but in 1945 became a faculty member of the experimental

Black Mountain College Black Mountain College was a private liberal arts college in Black Mountain, North Carolina. It was founded in 1933 by John Andrew Rice, Theodore Dreier, and several others. The college was ideologically organized around John Dewey's educatio ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

where she continued to teach until the end of the summer session in 1951. It was her teaching experience and growth as an artist while at Black Mountain College that prepared the foundation for most of her work in life, both as an educator and creator. Later in life, she discovered the work of

Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as ...

and lived the last part of her life at a Camphill Village in Kimberton, PA. In 1985, while living at the Kimberton Camphill Village she began teaching workshops with

Matthew Fox Matthew Chandler Fox (born July 14, 1966) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Charlie Salinger on '' Party of Five'' (1994–2000) and Jack Shephard on the drama series '' Lost'' (2004–2010), the latter of which earned h ...

at the University of Creation Spirituality in

Oakland, CA Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

during the winter months. Mary Caroline Richards died in 1999 in Kimberton, PA.

Early life and education

M.C. Richards was born in Weiser, Idaho on July 13, 1916. As an infant her family moved to Portland, Oregon where she spent the early part of her life. In 1935 she attended high school at the

Oregon Episcopal School Oregon Episcopal School (OES) is an American private, coeducational, college preparatory, day and boarding school in the Raleigh Hills area of Portland, Oregon. It was preceded by St. Helen's Hall, a day and boarding school for girls establishe ...

(then called St. Helen's Hall Junior College). She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at

in Portland, in Literature and Languages. She earned a MA degree in 1939 in English and a PhD in 1942 in English and linguistics, both degrees were from

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. In 1943 she taught English at the

in Ellensburg, Washington and married Vernon Young (marriage later dissolved). From there she taught briefly at the

and at the

, but became disillusioned with the traditional academic environment. While teaching at the

, she met the social scientist Albert William Levi Jr., and they were married in 1945 (their marriage was later dissolved while teaching at Black Mountain College).

Black Mountain College years (1945–1952)

In 1945 Richards joined the faculty of the English Department at

, where she taught writing and literature, and where she served as Faculty Chair from 1949 to 1951. At

, M.C. Richards was one of the most popular teachers with the students. She grouped her courses under the general heading of "Reading and Writing" while including important elements such as literary criticism, creative writing, and dramatic literature. It was here that she began to make the transition from the academic career for which she had been trained and moved into taking a more creative approach in her teaching methods. Here began many of the associations which connect her to the music and art worlds, through friendships with

David Tudor David Eugene Tudor (January 20, 1926 – August 13, 1996) was an American pianist and composer of experimental music. Life and career Tudor was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He studied piano with Irma Wolpe and composition with Stefan ...

Lou Harrison Lou Silver Harrison (May 14, 1917 – February 2, 2003) was an American composer, music critic, music theorist, painter, and creator of unique musical instruments. Harrison initially wrote in a dissonant, ultramodernist style similar to his ...

and John Cage in music,

Merce Cunningham Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other discipl ...

and

Remy Charlip Remy or Rémy may refer to: Places * Remy River, a tributary of rivière du Gouffre in Saint-Urbain, Quebec, Canada * Rémy, a French commune in Pas-de-Calais * Remy, Oise, northern France * Remy, Oklahoma, USA * 14683 Remy, an asteroid * P ...

in dance,

Charles Olson Charles Olson (27 December 1910 – 10 January 1970) was a second generation modern American poet who was a link between earlier figures such as Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams and the New American poets, which includes the New Yor ...

Robert Creeley Robert White Creeley (May 21, 1926 – March 30, 2005) was an American poet and author of more than sixty books. He is usually associated with the Black Mountain poets, though his verse aesthetic diverged from that school. He was close with Ch ...

, and Robert Duncan (loosely known as the "

Black Mountain Poets The Black Mountain poets, sometimes called projectivist poets, were a group of mid-20th-century American ''avant-garde'' or postmodern poets centered on Black Mountain College in North Carolina. Background Although it lasted only twenty-three y ...

") in literature, and

Lyle Bongé Lyle may refer to: People Surname * Lyle (surname) Given name * Lyle Alzado (1949–1992), American NFL All-Pro football player * Lyle Beerbohm (born 1979), professional mixed martial arts fighter * Lyle Bennett (1903–2005), head coach of the ...

and Joe Fiore in the visual arts. Her involvement with theater began at Black Mountain College with her translation of plays by

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the s ...

and

Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an un ...

. In 1948 Richards and her students founded the Black Mountain Press. The purpose was to give students experience in typesetting and publishing. In addition they published literary works, broadsides, and booklets. The Black Mountain Press published M.C.'s first book of collected poems, titled ''Poems'' as well as the short-lived ''Black Mountain College Review'', not to be confused with the later ''

Black Mountain Review The Black Mountain poets, sometimes called projectivist poets, were a group of mid-20th-century American ''avant-garde'' or postmodern poets centered on Black Mountain College in North Carolina. Background Although it lasted only twenty-three y ...

'' edited by

. Though intended as a series, only one issue (Vol. 1, No. 1, June 1951) of ''The Black Mountain College Review'' was printed, featuring a Noh play by

Nick Cernovich Nick may refer to: * Nick (given name) * A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat * British slang for being arrested * British slang for a police station * British slang for stealing * Short for nickname Pla ...

, "High Speed Computing Machines" by Natasha Goldowski, poems by

Fielding Dawson Fielding Dawson (August 2, 1930 – January 5, 2002, aged 71) was a Beat-era author of short stories and novels, and a student at Black Mountain College. He was also a painter and collagist whose works were seen in several books of poetry a ...

and

Joel Oppenheimer Joel Lester Oppenheimer (Jacob Hammer) (February 18, 1930 – October 11, 1988) was an American poet associated with both the Black Mountain poets and the New York School. He was the first director of the St. Marks Poetry Project (1966–68). T ...

, linoleum cuts by H. Roco, and other contributions by

Mary Fitton Fiore Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

Russell Edson Russell Edson (1935 – April 29, 2014) was an American poet, novelist, writer, and illustrator. He was the son of the cartoonist-screenwriter Gus Edson. He studied art early in life and attended the Art Students League as a teenager. He began pu ...

, and Alex Kemeny. The editorial work was shared between M.C. Richards, Alex Kemeny, and Hazel Larsen. A second issue was set in type but never printed due to lack of funds. While at Black Mountain College, Richards befriended student

James Leo Herlihy James Leo Herlihy (; February 27, 1927 – October 21, 1993) was an American novelist, playwright and actor. Herlihy is known for his novels '' Midnight Cowboy'' and '' All Fall Down'', and his play '' Blue Denim'', all of which were adapt ...

, who went on to be a noted novelist, playwright and actor. When she resigned her faculty position at Black Mountain College after the summer of 1951, she moved to New York City along with pianist and Cage associate

. There they joined John Cage and

, where they collaborated with others to include

Ray Johnson Raymond Edward "Ray" Johnson (October 16, 1927 – January 13, 1995) was an American artist. Known primarily as a collagist and correspondence artist, he was a seminal figure in the history of Neo-Dada and early Pop art and was described as

Robert Rauschenberg Milton Ernest "Robert" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combines (1954–1964), a group of artwor ...

Susan Weil Susan Weil (born March 31, 1930) is an American artist best known for her experimental three-dimensional paintings, which combine figurative illustration with explorations of movement and space. Life and career Weil was born in New York City. ...

, Paul Taylor, and

Viola Farber Viola Farber (February 25, 1931 – December 24, 1998) was an American choreographer and dancer. Biography Viola Farber was born on February 25, 1931, in Heidelberg, Germany. In Germany, Farber began dancing. However, at the age of six she was ...

. While in New York, she began to study pottery at the

Greenwich House Greenwich House is a West Village settlement house in New York City. History Greenwich House was founded on Thanksgiving Day in 1902 by city planner and social worker Mary K. Simkhovitch in a building at 26 Jones Street in Manhattan's West Vi ...

in Greenwich Village. She also began to work on the first English translation of Anton Artaud's ''The Theatre and Its Double'', which was published by Grove Press in 1958 to wide acclaim. Richards's translation is considered the definitive English version of the essays and was instrumental in introducing Artaud's work in the United States. In summer 1952, she participated in ''Theater Piece No. 1'' at Black Mountain College, an event that came to be known as the first Happening. It was organized by John Cage and also involving Robert Rauschenberg, Charles Olson, David Tudor, and Merce Cunningham. In the catalog for her exhibition at the Tampa Museum of Art in 1991 with John Cage,

, and

Irwin Kremen Irwin Kremen (June 5, 1925 – February 5, 2020) was an American artist who began making art while Director of the Duke University Graduate Program in Clinical Psychology, when he was 41, after earning a PhD six years earlier in clinical psychol ...

, M.C. wrote about her experience at Black Mountain College as "challenging the intellectual imagination and being a time for a very alive and vibrant artistic community." During her time there she was able to "think of her work as integrating the soul, the mind, and the muscle." She was able to participate as a writer in the writing classes that she taught, and developed a print shop there where she and her students could print their work.

Endless Mountains Farm, pottery, poetry (1953–1984)

In 1953 she returned to Black Mountain College as a student to study pottery with

Karen Karnes Karen Karnes (November 17, 1925 – July 12, 2016) was an American ceramist, best known for her salt glazed, earth-toned stoneware ceramics. She was born in 1925 in New York City, where she attended art schools for children. Her garment worker pa ...

and

David Weinrib David Weinrib (1924–2016) was an American artist most renowned for sculpture and ceramic art. Biography In 1952, with his wife Karen Karnes, Weinrib was a resident potter during the first Crafts Institute at Black Mountain College. Lasting Octo ...

. During a Summer Institute at Black Mountain College,

Daniel Rhodes Daniel Rhodes (May 8, 1911 – July 23, 1989) was an American artist, known as a ceramic artist, muralist, sculptor, author and educator. During his 25 years (1947–1973) on the faculty at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred U ...

Warren MacKenzie Warren MacKenzie (February 16, 1924 – December 31, 2018) was an American craft potter. He grew up in Wilmette, Illinois the second oldest of five children including his brothers, Fred and Gordon and sisters, Marge (Peppy) and Marilyn. His h ...

, and

Peter Voulkos Peter Voulkos (born Panagiotis Harry Voulkos; 29 January 1924 – 16 February 2002) was an American artist of Greek descent. He is known for his abstract expressionist ceramic sculptures, which crossed the traditional divide between ceramic cr ...

were invited to teach pottery for three weeks each. This sparked a shift for M.C. Richards as a "poet potter" working in clay. In 1954 Richards, Tudor, and Cage, among other former Black Mountain faculty, became part of the Gate Hill Cooperative community, also known as The Land, in Stony Point, Rockland County, New York, founded by the architect Paul Williams. In Stony Point, she shared a pottery studio with

and

. She remained in the Stony Point community for ten years and it was here that she wrote ''Centering: In Pottery, Poetry, and the Person''. In 1964, the same year she left Stony Point, her book ''Centering: In Pottery, Poetry and the Person'' was published by Wesleyan University Press, followed in 1973 by ''The Crossing Point: Nine Easter Letters on the Art of Education'' and in 1980 by ''Toward Wholeness: Rudolf Steiner Education in America''. These books reveal a very personal view of the development of the individual through art and life and, combined with her extensive teaching and lecturing throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, were widely influential in the arts education and craft communities. In 1965, Richards lifelong friend, potter

Paulus Berensohn Paulus Berensohn (1933 – 2017) was an American potter. Biography Born on May 14, 1933, in Brooklyn's Sheepshead Bay, Berensohn joined the Juilliard Dance Division in 1954 after three professional classes. In 1955, he moved to Bennington College ...

purchased 100 acres of land outside of Scranton, Pennsylvania for the creation of the

Endless Mountains Farm Endless or The Endless may refer to: Business * Endless (private equity), a British firm * Endless.com, an e-commerce website selling shoes and accessories * Endless Computers, an American operating system company Film * ''The Endless'' (film), ...

art colony. M.C. Richards joined Paulus at the Farm a few years later in 1968. Due to a health scare, Berensohn left Endless Mountains Farm in 1972 however it remained in community operation. The farm had changed ownership shares over the years, the last owner was M.C. Richards in 1993, and she decided to put her future energy into Camphill Village in Kimberton, Pennsylvania and sold her shares.

Mary Beth Edelson Mary Beth Edelson (born Mary Elizabeth Johnson) (6 February 1933 - 20 April 2021) was an American artist and pioneer of the feminist art movement, deemed one of the notable "first-generation feminist artists." Edelson was a printmaker, book ar ...

's ''Some Living American Women Artists / Last Supper'' (1972) appropriated

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially re ...

’s ''The Last Supper'', with the heads of notable women artists collaged over the heads of Christ and his apostles; M.C. was among those notable women artists. This image, addressing the role of religious and art historical iconography in the subordination of women, became "one of the most iconic images of the

feminist art movement The feminist art movement refers to the efforts and accomplishments of feminists internationally to produce art that reflects women's lives and experiences, as well as to change the foundation for the production and perception of contemporary ar ...

University of Creation Spirituality with Matthew Fox (1985–1999)

Later in life she taught art at the Institute in Culture and Creation Spirituality (ICCS) at Holy Names College (now

Holy Names University Holy Names University is a private Roman Catholic university in Oakland, California. It was founded by and remains affiliated with the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. It was founded in 1868 and plans to close in 2023. History The ...

) in Oakland, California. ICCS was founded by former

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

and current

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

priest

Matthew Fox (priest) Timothy James Fox (born December 21, 1940) is an American priest and theologian. Formerly a member of the Dominican Order within the Catholic Church, he became a member of the Episcopal Church following his expulsion from the order in 1993. Fox ...

. Matthew invited M.C. Richards to be on his faculty at the University of Creation Spirituality teaching a course on "Art as Meditation." She continued to teach there during the winter and live at the Camphill Village Intentional Community in Kimberton Hills, Pennsylvania during the rest of year, while also continuing to teach workshops at various literary and visual art centers.

Camphill Village (1984–1999)

She spent the last 15 years of her life living and working as a volunteer at Camphill Village Kimberton Hills, in Pennsylvania, an intentional living community based on the teachings of

, where the documentary film ''M.C. Richards: The Fire Within'' (2003) was made. There she also worked with residents with developmental disabilities.

Selected works

* ''Poems'', Black Mountain Press, 1947-1948 * ''Centering: in Pottery, Poetry, and the Person,''

Wesleyan University Press Wesleyan University Press is a university press that is part of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. The press is currently directed by Suzanna Tamminen, a published poet and essayist. History and overview Founded (in its present fo ...

, 1964 * ''The Crossing Point: Selected Talks and Writings'', Wesleyan University Press, 1973 * ''Toward Wholeness: Rudolf Steiner Education in America'', Wesleyan University Press, 1980 * ''The Public School and The Education of The Whole Person'', Pilgrim Press, 1980 * ''Imagine Inventing Yellow: New and Selected Poems'', Station Hill Press, 1991 * ''Opening Our Moral Eye: Essays, Poems, Paintings, Embracing Creativity and Community'', Lindisfarne Press, 1996 * ''Backpacking in the Hereafter: Poems by M.C. Richards'',

Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center The Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center (BMCM+AC) is an exhibition and performance space and resource center located at 120 College Street on Pack Square Park in downtown Asheville, North Carolina dedicated to preserving and continuing th ...

, 2014

Selected exhibitions

* ''Question Everything! The Women of Black Mountain College'', Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, Asheville, NC, 2020. * ''M.C. Richards, Centering: Life + Art — 100 Years'', Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, Asheville, NC, 2016. * ''The Shape of Imagination: Women of Black Mountain College'', Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, Asheville, NC, 2009. * ''Imagine Inventing Yellow: The Life and Works of M.C. Richards'', Worcester Center for Crafts, 1999. * ''The Black Mountain Connection: John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Irwin Kremen, M.C. Richards'', The Tampa Museum of Art, 1992.

References

External links

Obituary from ''The Independent''

* ''New York Times' obituar

Camphill Village Kimberton Hills
* Film
''M.C. Richards: The Fire Within''

Recordings of M.C. Richards reading her poetry in 1997
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, M.C. 1916 births 2009 deaths Reed College alumni American potters American ceramists 20th-century American artists 20th-century ceramists 20th-century American poets Black Mountain College faculty American women poets 20th-century American women writers Women potters American women ceramists American women academics People from Weiser, Idaho 21st-century American women Oregon Episcopal School alumni