Madeline DeFrees

Madeline DeFrees was born in Ontario, Oregon, in 1919. At age sixteen, she entered the convent of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, assuming the name of Sister Mary Gilbert for the next thirty-eight years. She has published eight previous volumes of poetry and two memoirs on her life as a nun. She taught at universities and colleges throughout the US, including the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where she directed the MFA program.