The Mill Grinds Fine: Collected Poems

The prose poems of Helen Alderfer showcased in Grist for the Mill are vignettes from her life as one of the earliest Mennonite women writers. She shows us the inside story of earlier times, tells the tales of a modern maturity, celebrates the natural world, and exalts the quest for the eternal. From birth through death as well as in between and beyond, Alderfer grieves, celebrates, articulates, and honors-without simplistically resolving-the mysteries of existence. Julia Kasdorf says that "At any age, poets write to retain and redeem memory, but perhaps even more so in what Helen calls 'the winter years.' From that vantage point, she writes with wisdom and generosity, in love with life yet mindful of loss." And Wilbur J. Birky observes that "Out of a lifetime of tough wisdom born of deeply felt beauty, grief, humor, and grace, Helen Alderfer writes of ordinary things with eternal import: food for a tramp, the indelible glory of a flamboyant tree, a sermon gone stale, Simon running into town naked for lack of rain, the tender shock of a child's eye-view, a father's brand new suit seen only in a casket."

The retirement of poet Helen Wade Alderfer, Goshen, Indiana, is devoted more than ever to thinking, reading, and writing. Instead of retreating into solitude, Alderfer remains actively engaged with people of all ages. Although challenged by low vision and hearing loss, she is part of a poetry writing group, volunteers at the local elementary school, and remains active in her assisted living and church communities. Alderfer was an editor of Christian Living for 25 years and of On the Line for 14 years. She edited the book, A Farthing in Her Hand. Her poems have been published in Beams of Light, The Voice, Gospel Herald, Purpose, The Mennonite, On the Line, Christian Living, and DreamSeeker Magazine.