Mandala Rug — My Autobiography
1974

BIOGRAPHY

Mary Mac Franklin has spent a lifetime working with words. Born in 1908 in Knoxville, Tennessee, she worked as a librarian at both a school and a public library, married a librarian, and with him raised two children. In 1974 she spent eleven months hooking a rug from home-dyed wool while her husband read aloud to her. The rug incorporates direct autobiographical references as well as symbols of meaningful moments in her life, including house numbers where she lived in Knoxville, Memphis, New York City, Toledo, and Charlottesville; fragments of the Song of Solomon and the William Butler Yeats poem "The Second Coming"; a ladybug representing both the security and vulnerability of home; references to favorite authors, books, and magazines; and a family heirloom clock and coat of arms. She has hooked over 50 large rugs, of which this is the 45th. She and her husband live in Charlottesville, Virginia.

BOOKS

The End is Near! Roger Manley. Illustrated. Bio.