About the Gardener
Frances Donovan’s debut full-length collection Arboretum in a Jar has been nominated for the Massachusetts Book Award. Her chapbook Mad Quick Hand of the Seashore was named a finalist in the 31st Lambda Literary Awards. Her poetry and interviews appear in The Rumpus, Lily Poetry Review, Solstice, Heavy Feather Review, SWWIM, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in poetry from Lesley University, is a certified Poet Educator with Mass Poetry, and has appeared as a featured reader at numerous venues. A poem of hers was featured in a film in the 2020 Filmetry festival, and another one has been displayed at Boston City Hall. Donovan’s work deals with themes of home, family, intergenerational trauma, and sexual and gender identity. She remembers fondly the summer of 1998, when she drove a bulldozer in a Pride parade while wearing a bustier. You can find her climbing hills in Boston and on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
- Purchase Arboretum in a Jar
- Purchase a signed copy of Mad Quick Hand of the Seashore
- Buy her chapbook on Amazon in print or on Kindle
- Read Frances’s poetry (full publication list)
- Join Frances’s mailing list
- Contact Frances
About the Garden
The Garden of Words came into existence about 20 years ago. Like all websites of a certain age, it has grown and evolved over time. In the interest of good literary citizenship, Frances now uses this site to spread the word about poets she admires and events she thinks poetry lovers would enjoy. The blog includes occasional forays into memoir, politics, and queer experience. You know — for kids.
Garden of Words 
How do I subscribe to your blog, Frances?
Hi Kathy! Probably the best thing to do is follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Google Plus. New posts always go out to my feeds there.
Hi Kathy: I’ve changed hosting providers and it’s now easier to follow the blog using either WordPress or email. You can sign up for email notifications in the right panel of the home page (it’ll appear at the bottom of the page on a mobile device).