It’s official: This week, I beat my personal record for rewrites. I’ve been working on poems based on the Psalms, and got a nice draft of Psalm 137 going. Twenty versions of the poem later, I’m almost done. Most of those 20 versions were spent trying to get the first stanza to my liking. IContinueContinue reading “Bang Head Here”
Category Archives: Guest post
Spring Images
A few months ago, I mentioned I’m reading through James Wright’s Collected Poems. Peter Stitt (as quoted in The Poetry Foundation’s overview of Wright’s life) says Wright’s Collected Poems parallels the development of poetry in history: both trace the movement from rhyme, meter, and higher literary style to less structured, more conventional language. When IContinueContinue reading “Spring Images”
April Come She Will
Song lyrics combine two of my favorite things: poetry and music. Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of Simon and Garfunkel—gorgeous music with words full of poetry, philosophy, and reflection. I play guitar so I’ve been challenging myself to learn several songs by Simon and Garfunkel. Anyone who’s listened to Simon and Garfunkel knowsContinueContinue reading “April Come She Will”
Deep Focus: Matt Randles
Matt Randles and I go waaay back…about 32 years to be exact. We were both studying music at Central Washington University when we met. Back then, we didn’t hang out much. He was too…Christian. I was an elitist who enjoyed staring contests with the abyss 😉 Fast forward about 9 years, and Matt is attendingContinueContinue reading “Deep Focus: Matt Randles”
Elegy in a Firelit Room
Nearly 20 years ago, I fell in love with a poem by Franz Wright called, “On the Death of a Cat.” I’ve shared it more than once with friends who have lost pets because of its affectionate vulnerability. Last fall, while meandering about the Poetry Foundation’s website, I became intrigued by a poet named JamesContinueContinue reading “Elegy in a Firelit Room”
Requiem
Mozart’s Requiem is a deeply profound piece of music written for orchestra, choir, and vocal soloists. I have loved it since high school. A requiem is a Catholic funeral mass with different sections that help worshipers meditate on realities of the Christian faith related to death. Themes include eternal rest, God’s wrath, final judgment, andContinueContinue reading “Requiem”
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
In my last post, I mentioned the snow is flying where I live. It snowed most of last night, and we woke to 5 or 6 inches of fresh, powdery snow. Keeping with the theme of snow, I thought I’d post a favorite Robert Frost poem, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” This poemContinueContinue reading “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
2047 Grace Street—Christian Wiman
I don’t remember how she heard about him, but my wife introduced me to Christian Wiman, and played a recording of him reading his poem, “All My Friends are Finding New Beliefs.” Wiman is a Christian, but I doubt he would fit in anyone’s theological box. His seems a very searching faith whose hunger forContinueContinue reading “2047 Grace Street—Christian Wiman”
The Devil’s Thesaurus
When Samuel Faulk said something about haiku at the Bible study we attended, I thought, “This guy either writes or reads poetry.” I asked him about it later, and he admitted to reading AND writing poetry. We got together to talk poetry, and he told me about a book he’d been working on for awhileContinueContinue reading “The Devil’s Thesaurus”
Dream Land—Christina Rossetti
I became acquainted with Christina Rossetti’s poetry while reading The Oxford Book of Christian Verse earlier this year. While her poems were written before the age of free verse, I was struck by how natural her language is—she avoids awkward word order to fit a poem’s meter or rhyme scheme. Some of her imagery isContinueContinue reading “Dream Land—Christina Rossetti”
A Wandering Minstrel 