Towards the end of his distinguished academic career, Richard Griffiths fulfilled a longstanding aspiration by being ordained into the Anglican Church. Since ordination, Griffiths has been in demand as a preacher and speaker to Christian audiences in the UK. Griffiths has therfore written this book for use in the Lenton season. Each of the sections in the book focuses on a poem or part of a poem. Using his skills as a literary critic, Griffiths turns his attention in deeply meditative fashion to the study of Christian poetry as a means of raising the heart, mind and soul to God. The writers to whom we are introduced come from all periods; from the 16th century to the present, and include not only well-known authors such as Henry Vaughan, R.S. Thomas and T.S. Eliot, but also some who may be less familiar - such as Thomas Traherne, Alice Meynell, Francis Thompson, David Gascoyne.

Review

"An intelligent, cultured, and liberal set of meditations and essays on poetry, poems, and prayer. It contains some excellent stuff, and introduces some little known poets to a wider audience"

(Michael Docker Baptist Times)

'It is a rare pleasure to find someone who is genuinely able to bring the best of the secular into the realm of the scared...Rarer still is it to find someone who does this with delicacy and humility.'

~ Michael Clogher, Church of Ireland Gazette

(Michael Clogher)

"An intelligent, cultured, and liberal set of meditations and essays on poetry, poems, and prayer. It contains some excellent stuff, and introduces some little known poets to a wider audience"

(Sanford Lakoff Baptist Times)

'It is a rare pleasure to find someone who is genuinely able to bring the best of the secular into the realm of the scared...Rarer still is it to find someone who does this with delicacy and humility.'

~ Michael Clogher, Church of Ireland Gazette

(Sanford Lakoff)

About the Author

Professor Richard Griffiths has recently retired as Professor of French at King's College London.