Madelon Sprengnether Headshot

Poet. Memoirist.
Literary Critic.

Madelon Sprengnether is a poet, memoirist, literary critic, and Regents Professor Emerita of the University of Minnesota. Her recent publications include Great River Road: Memoir and Memory (New Rivers Press, 2015), Near Solstice: Prose Poems (Holy Cow! Press, 2015), and Mourning Freud (Bloomsbury 2018). 

New
Release

Mourning Freud analyzes Freud’s experiences and theories of mourning as the basis for exploring changes in psychoanalytic theories and practices over the course of the 20th century. 

More by Madelon

Great River Road: Memoir and Memory

Great River Road is a candid, personal story and a far larger one: an inspiring take on the challenge of revisiting our lives, taking pleasure in old joys and overcoming our natural resistance to the painful parts. Madelon Sprengnether’s conclusion that memory is a ‘process rather than a product, a verb rather than a noun’ seems to me a perfect way to open tight-shut doors to the forgiveness of others and of the self.”

– Rosellen Brown

Crying at the Movies: A Film Memoir

“In these insightful essays, even the writing itself is cinematic, as Sprengnether’s memories and quick film summaries meld into one another, making it seem as if the author hasn’t just seen many movies, but has actually lived one.”

– Publishers Weekly

Near Solstice: Prose Poems

Madelon Sprengnether’s short prose poems surprise us with their quick turns and telegraphic insights, their physical bearing―what she calls “bodyworlds”―and spiritual poise. Near Solstice is a book of urgencies.”

– Edward Hirsch