SOURCE: Todd, Janet. “May Sarton.” In Women Writers Talking, pp. 3-19. New York: Holmes & Meier, 1978.

In the following essay, based on an interview, Sarton discusses autobiographical aspects of her work, the relationship between art and life, and the role of the female artist in contemporary society.

I met May Sarton on a clear fresh day in May in a car park in York, Maine. She was immediately welcoming and her warmth cancelled out the fatigue of my eight-hour drive from New York. We drove in her car down lanes of new leaves.

Her house was yellow and three-storied; the grass, colored with daffodils and red tulips, stretched down to the sea. Inside, the views of sun, sea, and flowers seemed part of the walls. It was a home, with a dog, a cat, flowers, knick-knacks, soft toys, and old furniture. A beautiful place. “Rented,” she said quickly as...