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This poetry collection reimagines the classic poetic text of the Song of Songs and considers its terrain of love and belonging in connection with how we seek out the divine today in our own backyards, literally and figuratively. The Song of Songs, found in Hebrew and Christian scripture, conveys in poetic form the intimate love between the bride and the groom, interpreted often in tradition as the human soul and the divine. The Song captures the spiritual journey of the soul toward its God through expression of the delight which the soul and the Beloved find in one another and their garden, the soul's despair in the absence of the Beloved and the consequent experience of loss and pain, and finally the union of the soul and Beloved. This poetry chapbook is inspired by a garden and its residents, a historic drought, a wildfire and its aftermath, experience of the divine in the everyday, and the Song of Songs. Several of the poems echo moments found in the Song and other scripture, and the poems are generally arranged according to the arc of the Song.
Winner of the 2020 Paraclete Poetry Prize, Litany of Flights is a luminous examination of the journey of the soul, from moments of loss to moments of incandescent transformation. These poems remind us to behold the extraordinary in the ordinary, and that the secret workings of the divine occur even through the difficult: "the painful paring of your hollow bones has made you light." Drawing on the beauty of the natural world, the devastating effects of drought and wildfires, tender moments of daily experience, and lessons of the saints, the poet creates a landscape of light and darkness, with unexpected turns into divine presence and absence. Through a spiral of red-tailed hawks, the nest of ...
How do the dark moments of suffering which we all encounter at some point in our lives connect with the divine? The words of Paul the Apostle offer an answer to this universal question in the vibrant figure and pattern of Jesus Christ, so eloquently expressed in the Philippians Christ Hymn. It is in moments of loss, moments of experience of creation and community, and moments of transformative unity with God that we discover our deep connectedness to God and one another. Laura Hogan weaves the truth of these three facets of divine-human relationship together with Paul's undivided trust in divine effectiveness; that is, that the paradox of the cross reveals that God, no matter how dire the circumstance, is supremely effective to accomplish his will. Paul's words encourage us to express the pattern of Jesus Christ in our words, actions, and very lives, a singular articulation of Christ in our time, place, identity, and circumstances. This daily living of the Christ pattern, which this book explores in lives past and present, gives rise to a true joy in God as we become increasingly aware of our relationship with the divine in all moments, from the darkest to the brightest.
How do the dark moments of suffering which we all encounter at some point in our lives connect with the divine? The words of Paul the Apostle offer an answer to this universal question in the vibrant figure and pattern of Jesus Christ, so eloquently expressed in the Philippians Christ Hymn. It is in moments of loss, moments of experience of creation and community, and moments of transformative unity with God that we discover our deep connectedness to God and one another. Laura Hogan weaves the truth of these three facets of divine-human relationship together with Paul's undivided trust in divine effectiveness; that is, that the paradox of the cross reveals that God, no matter how dire the circumstance, is supremely effective to accomplish his will. Paul's words encourage us to express the pattern of Jesus Christ in our words, actions, and very lives, a singular articulation of Christ in our time, place, identity, and circumstances. This daily living of the Christ pattern, which this book explores in lives past and present, gives rise to a true joy in God as we become increasingly aware of our relationship with the divine in all moments, from the darkest to the brightest.
Winner of the Backwaters Prize in Poetry, this collection teems with creatures and cosmic phenomena that vivify and reveal our common struggle toward faith and identity.
Finding God in Suffering is about a Jesus-follower's pilgrimage from East Asia to Australia. It speaks of his journey of sorrow and joy, struggles and hope, affliction and God's power in his weakness as he navigates through life as a factory worker, international student, software developer, church minister, global education officer at a humanitarian organization, and lecturer in the New Testament. It is about how he makes sense of suffering in a world of pain and chaos through the Bible, and how he responds to God's call to follow the crucified Christ and risen Lord. Finding God in Suffering is a thoughtful reflection of the Scriptures, suffering, and issues of injustice. It is an invitation to participate in God's purpose for humanity by sharing in Christ's suffering and bearing his image. Suffering is not pleasant, but it is not worthless either. Siu Fung Wu encourages us to keep following Jesus in our suffering.
You don’t have to be a skilled poet to see yourself living In a Strange Land. The poets found in this collection, however, not only recognize it, but express their varying experiences in ways that bring us along with them. We see their experiences—whether similar to our own or completely different—and find their poems ringing true in beautiful, painful, amusing, and fascinating ways. None of these ten poets has previously had a full-length poetry collection of their own—yet—but they are certainly all worthy of that honor. Keep an eye out for these poets in literary journals, chapbooks, and new books over the next while. Contributing poets: Ryan Apple, Susan Cowger, Jen Stewart Fueston, Laura Reece Hogan, Burl Horniachek, Miho Nonaka, Debbie Sawczak, Bill Stadick, James Tughan, Mary Willis
Winner of the Backwaters Prize in Poetry, Butterfly Nebula reaches from the depths of the sea to the edges of space to chart intersections of the physical universe, the divine, the human, and the constantly unfolding experience of being "one thing in the act of becoming another." This collection of poems teems with creatures and cosmic phenomena that vivify and reveal our common struggle toward faith and identity. The longing and metamorphosis of the human heart and soul are reimagined in an otherworldly landscape of firework jellyfish, sea slug, stingray, praying mantis, butterfly and moth, moon and star, and celestial events ranging from dark matter and Kepler's Supernova remnant to a dozen classified nebulae. Our desire for purpose and renewal collides with the vast constellation of divine possibility in this collection, which invites the reader to enter a transformative world both deeply interior and embracing of the far-flung cosmos.
Poetry. THE WORLD TO COME by David Keplinger, the author of seven books of poetry, is the winner of the third annual Minds on Fire Open Book Prize awarded by Conduit Books & Ephemera. A dazzling collection of prose poems THE WORLD TO COME imagines the future while honoring the prose poem's rich tradition.
What is it like to have a saint for a sister? This lyrical and fragmentary novel draws us into the brief life and powerful legacy of Saint Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897), a French Carmelite nun who remains a much-loved figure in and beyond the Catholic Church. We follow Therese's story through the voices of six characters who knew her well: her sisters Marie, Pauline, Leonie, and Celine; a young cousin; and a troubled seminarian with whom she corresponds towards the end of her life. Each character offers their own perspective as they witness to Therese's life and death, the turns of history, and the subsequent complexities of promulgating a saint. Spanning the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, each voice negotiates the tensions of religious life. The novel presents some remarkable people and events while inviting in the mysteries of grace, silence, and sunlight.