Member Reviews
Benjamin S, Reviewer
“God is more than all we can ever say of him, and poetry revels in that plenitude.”
In this book, English professor Abram Van Engen invites Christians to the pleasure of poetry. His is a call to enjoyment of poetry (coupled with some critical analyzing as long as such analysis is born of the enjoyment of the poem). This is an especially effective book in that the many poems that appear throughout, (I think) will be particularly easy for Christians to appreciate. I knew quite a few of them beforehand, but was delighted by both those and the ones new to me.
The first half of the book proposes ways to read poetry in accessible language and with helpful examples. The chapters are titled: 1. Read personally, 2. Read for pleasure, 3. Ask questions, 4. Think of poetry like friendship, 5. Consider form, 6. Erase to discover more. The second half of the book offers more theological-ish reflections on the why of poetry: 7. To name creation, 8. To tell the truth, 9. To rejoice with those who rejoice, 10. To weep with those who weep.
As a student of poetry myself (albeit a very rusty student), there was nothing incredibly new or mind-blowing here, but it was very nicely arranged and I think will be readily received by people with less training in poetic forms. There were a few parts where the exposition of certain poems dragged, and some of his theological-ish reflections felt a bit forced. But I loved it for being a book that I needed right now: it stoked the embers of poetry which have lacked for oxygen in my life.
Educator 985113
Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.
I'm very excited to have found this book. My friend is a grade 6 teacher in a Christian-based school and is trying to connect her lessons to Christ. Poetry is her least favorite English subject to teach, so bringing the Bible into the poetry world will make it more interesting for her I think.
