Poetry For All Joanne Diaz and Abram Van Engen

This episode dives into the wonderful world of Gerard Manley Hopkins, the musicality of his language, and the vision he has of becoming what we already are.


This poem illustrates the cover of Abram Van Engen's new book, Word Made Fresh. The book explores connections between poetry and faith, and it serves as an invitation to reading poetry of all kinds--with tools and tips for how to get started and explore broadly.


Special thanks to John Hendrix for the cover illustration of Word Made Fresh, which is an illustration of "As Kingfishers Catch Fire."


Here is the poem by Hopkins:


As Kingfishers Catch Fire


As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell's
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves — goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying Whát I dó is me: for that I came.


I say móre: the just man justices;
Keeps grace: thát keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is —
Chríst — for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men's faces.


See the poem at the Poetry Foundation.


For more on Hopkins, see here.


The last chapter of Word Made Fresh dwells at length on this poem by Hopkins as an expression of what poetry does and can do in the world.
Links:
Word Made Fresh: An Invitation to Poetry for the Church — Have you ever read a book that turned your world upside down? What about a poem?

Poetry has the power to enliven, challenge, change, and enrich our lives. But it can also feel intimidating, confusing, or simply “not for us.” In these joyful and wise reflections, Abram Van Engen shows readers how poetry is for everyone—and how it can reinvigorate our Christian faith.

Intertwining close readings with personal storytelling, Van Engen explains how and why to read poems as a spiritual practice. Far from dry, academic instruction, his approach encourages readers to delight in poetry, even as they come to understand its form. He also opens up the meaning of poetry and parables in Scripture, revealing the deep connection between literature and theology.

Word Made Fresh is more than a guide to poetry—it’s an invitation to wonder, to speak up, to lament, to praise. Including dozens of poems from diverse authors, this book will inspire curious and thoughtful readers to see God and God’s creation in surprising new ways.

In this episode, Lauren Camp joins us to read and discuss "Inner Planets," a poem that she wrote during her time as the astronomer in residence at Grand Canyon National Park. She describes her poetic process and the value of solitude in a place full of wonderment.


To learn more about the Grand Canyon Astronomer in Residence program, click here.


To learn more about Lauren Camp, visit her website.


Lauren's newest collection, In Old Sky, is a collection of the poems that were inspired by the Grand Canyon.

Our first live performance of the podcast, featuring Marilyn Nelson and a discussion or her amazing poem "How I Discovered Poetry."


On January 31, we met at Calvin University for its January Series and spoke with Marilyn Nelson about poetry and her work for a live audience.


For more on Marilyn Nelson, visit her website or The Poetry Foundation.


This poem is the title poem of an extraordinary book called How I Discovered Poetry


It was originally published in The Fields of Praise: New and Selected Poems


Thank you to LSU Press for permission to read and discussion this poem on our podcast.

We share some news about a new website at poetryforallpod.com and a live event next week!


https://poetryforallpod.com/

In the first episode of 2024, we read one of the great poets of the past century, W.S. Merwin, and his address to the new year, considering his attentiveness, his style, and his wondrous mood and mode of contemplation and surprise. Picking up on the "radical hope" we discussed in Dimitrov's "Winter Solstice," we turn to Merwin's sense of what is untouched but still possible as he greets the new year.


In this episode, we quote a few pieces from The New Yorker. Here they are, plus a few other resources.


"The Aesthetic Insight of W.S. Merwin" by Dan Chiasson


"The Final Prophecy of W.S. Merwin" by Dan Chiasson


"The Palm Trees and Poetry of W.S. Merwin" by Casey Cep


"When You Go Away: Remembering W.S. Merwin" by Kevin Young


See also The Poetry Foundation.


The poem originally appeared in Present Company (Copper Canyon Press, 2005). Thanks to the Wylie Agency for granting us permission to read this poem on the episode.

In this episode, we read and discuss a poem that provides a powerful meditation on the longest night of the year.


To learn more about Alex Dimitrov, please visit his website.


Thanks to Copper Canyon Press for granting us permission to read this poem from Love and Other Poems.


During our conversation, we briefly allude to "Love," Dimitrov's wonderful poem that he continues to write each day. To read the original poem, you can check the American Poetry Review; and to read Dimitrov's additional lines on Twitter, you can follow him at @apoemcalledlove on Twitter.