Between

Saturday, 3 September 2022

Artlyst - Spiritual Joseph Beuys Plus More: September Diary

My latest diary piece for A rtlyst has mentions of Joseph Beuys, Mathias Goeritz, Wallace Berman, David Miller, Idris Murphy, Colin McCahon, Yvette Coppersmith, Roger Kemp and Vasily Kandinsky:

‘Telushkin concludes by sharing a portion of a letter written by Kandinsky in 1913 where he “mused about the similar avenues of rupture and rebirth that religion and art offer”:

“Art in many respects resembles religion. Its development consists not of new discoveries that obliterate old truths and stamp them as false (as is apparently the case in science). Its development consists in moments of sudden illumination, resembling a flash of lightning, of explosions that burst in the sky like fireworks, scattering a whole ‘bouquet’ of different colored stars around them. This illumination reveals with blinding clarity new perspectives … the continuing growth of earlier wisdom, which is not canceled out by the latter, but remains living and productive as truth and as wisdom. Christ, in his own words, came not to overthrow the old law, [but] he transformed the old material law into his own spiritual law. In this way, I have since come to conceive of nonobjective painting not as a negation of all previous art. I have always been put out by assertions that I intended to overthrow the old tradition of such painting.”

Kandinsky’s argument regarding the synergies between developments in religion and those in art might just be a thread connecting all those artists and movements that have been considered in this piece.'

See here for my review of David Miller's 'Some Other Shadows'.

My other pieces for Artlyst are:

Interviews -

Articles -

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

David Miller and SpiritWORK - Voice.

Friday, 2 September 2022

Unveiled and Autumn Exhibitions

Tonight, at St Andrew's Church, we shared details of 'Unveiled', our new Friday night arts event plus our Autumn exhibitions.

Unveiled
A regular Friday night arts and performance event
at St Andrew’s Church, 7.00 – 9.00 pm
11 London Road, Wickford, Essex SS12 0AN
Exhibitions, open mic nights, performances, talks and more!

Unveiled – a wide range of artist and performers from Essex and wider, including Open Mic nights (come and have a go!).
Unveiled – view our hidden painting by acclaimed artist David Folley, plus a range of other exhibitions.

Initial Autumn Programme

2 September – ‘The Psalms Project’ with violinist Emma-Marie Kabanova and Delvyn Case from Deus Ex Musica. New pieces of sacred music plus discussion of the Psalms.
9 September – No meeting (but Quiz Night at St Mary’s Runwell).
16 September – Opening Event for our current exhibitions (mudcub sculptures & Runwell Art Club) with an art talk ‘Controversy & conversation: Art & churches’, including discussion of our hidden painting.
23 September – Open Mic Night (come along and have a go at performing).
30 September - Simon Law in concert. Simon has fronted the rock bands Fresh Claim, Sea Stone and Intransit, as well as being a founder of Plankton Records and becoming an Anglican Vicar.
7 October – Conversing with composers – Hear Classical composer Ho Wai-On speak about her work and view videos of her work - https://www.howaion.co.uk/aboutme.html.
14 October – Visit to Luke Jerram’s ‘Gaia’ installation at Chelmsford Cathedral. Measuring seven metres in diameter and created from 120dpi detailed NASA imagery of the Earth’s surface the artwork provides the opportunity to see our planet, floating in three dimensions. Tickets cost £4.00.
21 October – ‘Wickford Famous’ – a talk by Ken Porter (Basildon Heritage)

Unveiled’s Autumn Programme will continue to 25 November.

Advance notice: 18 November – Matt Simpkins in concert. Sinner songster, guttural gospeller & pop-poet-priest, the Rev’d Matt Simpkins’s music is an unholy brew of bruising freak blues, string-snapping finger-twanged folk, and sanctified psychedelia.

With the exception of the Gaia trip, these events do not require tickets (just turn up on the night). There will be a retiring collection to cover artist and church costs.

See http://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/whats-on.html for fuller information.

mudcubs… touching earth, bringing peace
5 September – 31 December 2022
St Andrew’s Church, 11 London Road, Wickford, Essex SS12 0AN

Nicola Ravenscroft’s mudcubs are children intimately connected to the earth – reminding us of our duty of care to life, to love, to planet Earth.

This exhibition is complemented by a heritage display on Wickford’s children from Basildon Heritage (Web: http://www.basildonheritage.org.uk/) from 18 September – 22 October (followed by a display on Wickford’s shops) and an exhibition by members of Runwell Art Club (https://community.saa.co.uk/art-clubs/runwell-art-club/) featuring animals, children and nature. All their works are for sale.

St Andrew’s Church is usually open: Saturdays from 8.30 am to 12.30 pm; Sundays from 9.30 am to 12.00 noon; Mondays from 1.30 to 3.45 pm; Tuesdays from 1.00 to 4.30 pm; Wednesdays from 10.00 am to 12.00 noon; and Fridays from 10.00 am to 1.30 pm.

See http://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/whats-on.html for fuller information.

Nicola Ravenscroft’s mudcubs are children intimately connected to the earth – reminding us of our duty of care to life, to love, to planet Earth.

Children pay attention to the world finding wonder in it. A child’s journey from the front of the house to the back will ‘be full of pauses, circling, touching and picking up in order to smell, shake, taste, rub, and scrape’, ‘every object along the path will be a new discovery’ because ‘the child treats the situation with the open curiosity and attention that it deserves’ (Sister Corita Kent). That is why the children are our future and can lead the way into a better future. This is also why Jesus said a child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

. . mudcubs . . are Earth’s messenger-angels: they silently call us to live in PEACE .. with nature and with each other.

Previously exhibited at St Martin-in-the-Fields, St John’s Cambridge, HSBC global headquarters Canary Wharf, Churchill College Cambridge, Cambridge University Faculty of Education and coming to us from the Talos Art Gallery’s ‘Natural Elements’ exhibition where they spent three months outdoors standing guard at the base of an old tree, these are sculptures to touch and feel and cherish. Nicola says: “Earth’s children are life’s heartbeat: they are her hope, her future ... they are breath of Earth herself. Creative, inquisitive and trusting, children are Earth’s possibility thinkers. They seek out, and flourish in fellowship, in ‘oneness’, and being naturally open-hearted, and wide-eyed hungry for mystery, delight and wonder, they embrace diversity with the dignity of difference.”

Nicola Ravenscroft is a British sculptor and songwriter whose sculpture has a lifegiving presence and a peaceful stillness. A graduate of Camberwell School of Art, London, UK she has owned and run a sculpture gallery and, as an art teacher, has nurtured many young people into celebrating their inherent creativity and thinking beyond the walls. Her sculpture installation With the Heart of a Child was part of a project exploring what the arts in transdisciplinary learning spaces can contribute to primary education. Nicola has been commissioned to create the Westminster National bronze memorial, honouring the sacrifice of NHS and careworkers on the covid front line.

Web: https://nicolaravenscroft.com / https://nicolaravenscroft.com/mudcubs/.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matt Simpkins - In The Marsh A Desert.

A Musical Exploration of the Psalms

ST. ANDREW’S CHURCH PRESENTS

Presents

A Musical Exploration of the Psalms

FRIDAY 2 SEPTEMBER 2022 19:00-21:00 BST

St. Andrew’s Church, Wickford 11 London Road SS12 0AN, United Kingdom

Emma-Marie Kabanova, violin

Delvyn Case, moderator

Produced in association with Deus Ex Musica.

PROGRAMME

Introduction Delvyn Case
My heart within me is desolate (Psalm 143:4) Judith Lang Zaimont
Discussion
A Song of Ascents (Psalm 121) Tatev Amiryan
Discussion
Psalm 133 Delvyn Case
Discussion Ura (Psalm 57) Michel Klein
Discussion

Listen to these pieces for free at www.deus-ex-musica.com/search-me-o-god.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

How would you describe the overall mood or “emotional landscape“ of the musical composition?
How does this piece affect your experience, understanding, or interpretation of the psalm? Does it amplify or enrich it? Does it expand on it or challenge it?
Are there any words, phrases, or verses in the psalm which the musical composition seems to reflect most powerfully?

THE PSALMS

PSALM 143

1 Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness. 2 And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. 3 For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead. 4 Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate. 5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands. 6 I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah. 7 Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. 8 Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee. 9 Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me. 10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. 11 Quicken me, O Lord, for thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble. 12 And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.

PSALM 121

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. 3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. 4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. 6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. 8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

PSALM 133

1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! 2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; 3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

PSALM 57

1 Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast. 2 I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me. 3 He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth. 4 My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword. 5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth. 6 They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah. 7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise. 8Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early. 9 I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations. 10 For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds. 11 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Danish/British violinist Emma-Marie Kabanova completed a Master’s degree at Goldsmith’s College, University of London where she specialized in performance of music by late Soviet composers. She completed further studies in violin performance at the Novosibirsk Conservatory and studied privately with a principal violinist of the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra in Moscow, Russia. Formerly based in Moscow, Emma-Marie was a guest Principal with the Moscow Baroque Soloists, performed with Opera Omnia early opera company and was the artistic director of Globus Music baroque ensemble where she created collaborative projects with singers and dancers from the Bolshoi Theatre, the Helikon Opera and the Stanislavsky Theatre. Recent concerts include appearances with the Oxford Alternative Orchestra UK, The National Chamber Orchestra of Moldova, and at festivals in the UK, Hungary and Turkey. Emma-Marie teaches violin and has worked as a classroom music teacher. Between 2007 and 2014 she set up musical education projects working with terminally ill children in Siberia and young offenders in an institution in Moscow. In 2017 was given a ‘Points of Light’ award by the UK Prime Minister for this work. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine Emma-Marie found it impossible to stay in Russia and returned to the UK where she has been working as a freelance violinist.

Judith Lang Zaimont is internationally recognized for her music’s distinctive style, characterized by expressive strength and dynamism. A grantee of both National Endowments, winner of the 2015 The American Prize in Chamber Music Composition and a 2003 Aaron Copland Award winner, she has enjoyed a distinguished career as composer of over 100 works with performances by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Camerata Bern, Berlin and Czech Radio symphonies, and the Kremlin Chamber Orchestra. Her music is widely performed throughout the U.S. and Europe and has been recorded for the MSR Classics, Naxos, Navona, Koch Classics, Arabesque, Milken Family Foundation, Albany, Jeanne, Leonarda, Northeastern, and 4Tay labels. Her principal publishers are Subito Music, Galaxy/ ECS, Jeanné and Vivace. She is a distinguished teacher and pianist, and creator and editor-in-chief of the critically acclaimed book series The Musical Woman: An International Perspective.

Tatev Amiryan is an Armenian-American award-winning composer and pianist. Her music has been performed in the United States, Armenia, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, England, Poland, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, and Japan by such renowned ensembles and performers as, German Chamber Philharmonic of Bremen, Portland Youth Philharmonic, National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia, CMEA Central Coast Honors Orchestra, Carpe Diem String Quartet, Ensemble Oktoplus, Metropolitan Choral of Kansas City, Juventas New Music Ensemble, Globus Music Ensemble, Playground Ensemble, pianists Jeffrey Jacob, Hayk Melikyan, and thereminist Thorwald Jorgensen. Her pieces have been featured at 4 such prestigious festivals and projects as MITO Settembre Musica International Festival, GogolFest, Królewskie Arkady Sztuki, Blurred Edges, Women Composers Festival of Hartford, London International Piano Symposium, and Crossing Borders Music.

Delvyn Case, Deus Ex Musica founder, is an American musician, scholar, writer, speaker, and educator. He has spent 25 years developing projects for secular and religious audiences that explore music’s unique power to explore questions of spirituality in the contemporary world. His writings on music, faith, and theology have appeared in The Christian Century, Sojourners, Books and Culture, numerous online magazines. He has collaborated on projects with the Yale Institute for Sacred Music, Harvard Divinity School, Hebrew College, Boston College, and the parish of St Martin in the Fields (London), and many others across the United States and Canada. As a composer, his music has been performed by over 80 orchestras across the world, as well as by the Borromeo Quartet, the New York Virtuoso Singers, and Grammy-winning artists Richard Stoltzman and the Chestnut Brass Company. A graduate of Yale and the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Case is Professor of Music at historic Wheaton College, a secular liberal arts college in Norton, Massachusetts.

Michel Klein is an LA-based composer and Jewish music scholar. He recently received his Ph.D in composition and ethnomusicology where he studied with David Lefkowitz, Ian Krouse, and Richard Danielpour. Prior to UCLA, Michel attended Ithaca College where he received his B.M. in composition and studied with Dana Wilson and Sally Lamb. After graduating, Michel spent a year traveling and studying at a Jewish theological seminary in Israel. In his music, Michel seeks to tap into and express his Jewish roots through a unique musical voice by fusing various elements of contemporary music and traditional Jewish sacred musical material. His work has been read by ensembles such as Wild Up! and the Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble and has been performed by the Syrinx Collective, the Bay Area-based Celloscape Collective, and at the Music from Salem Cello Seminar. His opera Akeidah received a concert workshop with Opera UCLA.

ABOUT DEUS EX MUSICA

DEUS EX MUSICA is an ecumenical organization that promotes sacred music as a resource for learning, discipleship, and spiritual growth. Since our founding in 2018, we have presented unique music-oriented faith formation events in collaboration with dozens of institutions in the US, Canada, Russia, and the UK, including the parish of St. Martin in the Fields (London), the Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology (Cambridge, UK), the national conference of the United Church of Christ (USA), Wheaton College (Illinois), Eden Theological Seminary (USA), the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and the Arts, and churches in Moscow, California, and Massachusetts.

OUR PROJECTS

Our Composers Project brings together performers and composers to create new works that engage with the Christian tradition in contemporary ways. Since 2019, we have premiered over 40 new vocal and instrumental works in contexts that promoted discussion about Scripture and faith. In October 2022, Deus Ex Musica will present a unique performance/discussion event in Boston featuring twelve newly-composed solo viola works inspired by the psalms.
Our record label, Deus Ex Musica Records, provides opportunities for composers to share their music in ways that support its use in the church outside of the worship service. In July 2022, DEM Records releases Search Me, O God, featuring world-premiere recordings of ten psalm-inspired violin works by contemporary Christian and Jewish composers.

Visit our website to sign up for monthly email updates about events, new blog articles and podcast episodes, and other projects: www.deus-ex-musica.com.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Judith Lang Zaimont - My Heart Is Desolate.

Wednesday, 31 August 2022

Artlyst - Hidden Depths: The Woman in the Window – Dulwich Picture Gallery

My latest exhibition review for A rtlyst is on 'Reframed: The Woman in the Window' at Dulwich Picture Gallery:

‘It’s such a simple motif – a woman at or by a window – yet, as curator Jennifer Sliwka ably demonstrates in this show, is one that contains hidden depths. This exhibition concisely and clearly maps out the history of this motif, shows us several specific foci of its use over the centuries, while also exploring the extent to which this has been a motif of male artists reflecting the male gaze, before then highlighting ways in which female artists have subverted, used and critiqued the motif.

It is a significant achievement on Sliwka’s part to navigate across so much contested ground with such care and consideration, while delivering an exhibition that never fails to engage visually as well as intellectually. Alongside her consideration of the ‘woman in the window’ motif are also reflections on the nature of windows; not simply openings in walls but, as Sliwka notes, charged thresholds, sites of observation or communication, and signifiers of wealth or spiritual meaning. The layers of meaning explored in this exhibition are, as a result, significant and deep.

The exhibition identifies the key geographic locations, cultures and time periods for which the motif had a particular meaning and what this reveals about issues of gender and visibility. As such, it is instructive to view the exhibition alongside Feminine power: the divine to the demonic at the British Museum, which explores the representation of feminine power or desire in material form. In both, no simple answers are proffered to the issues raised but there is a wealth of imagery and ideas shared with which to engage.'

My other pieces for Artlyst are:

Interviews -

Articles -

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Innocence Mission - Look Out From Your Window.

Artlyst: Holiday Snaps – End Of Summer Art Diary

My latest diary article for A rtlyst is an additional summer diary based on a trip to Mallorca :

‘At the end of the nineteenth century and for much of the twentieth, art and economic development through the growth of tourism went hand-in-hand in Mallorca; one way, among many, in which reason and art became co-terminus. Art and land have had a longstanding symbiotic relation here, whether documenting Mallorcan life or marvelling at natural beauty. Yet despite the broadening of art in media and concept that began in the twentieth century and continues into the present, as these current exhibitions show art retains its connection with the land – never more urgently than in our climate emergency – and also continues to explore personal and societal reasons for existence creating spaces for contemplation, challenge and change.'

For other posts on my Mallorcan visits, past and present, see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

My other pieces for Artlyst are:

Interviews -

Articles -

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

James MacMillan - O Radiant Dawn.

Tuesday, 30 August 2022

The Psalms Project

It's getting close! Danish/British violinist Emma-Marie Kabanova is performing at St Andrew's Wickford this Friday evening (7.00 - 9.00 pm). Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-psalms-project-tickets-387928995067. The event will be livestreamed so register to join us in the building or to view online.

Emma-Marie Kabanova completed a Master’s degree at Goldsmith’s College, University of London where she specialized in performance of music by late Soviet composers. She completed further studies in violin performance at the Novosibirsk Conservatory and studied privately with a principal violinist of the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra in Moscow, Russia.

Formerly based in Moscow, Emma-Marie was a guest Principal with the Moscow Baroque Soloists, performed with Opera Omnia early opera company and was the artistic director of Globus Music baroque ensemble where she created collaborative projects with singers and dancers from the Bolshoi Theatre, the Helikon Opera and the Stanislavsky Theatre. Recent concerts include appearances with the Oxford Alternative Orchestra UK, The National Chamber Orchestra of Moldova, and at festivals in the UK, Hungary and Turkey.

Emma-Marie teaches violin and has worked as a classroom music teacher. Between 2007 and 2014 she set up musical education projects working with terminally ill children in Siberia and young offenders in an institution in Moscow. In 2017 was given a ‘Points of Light’ award by the UK Prime Minister for this work. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine Emma-Marie found it impossible to stay in Russia and returned to the UK where she has been working as a freelance violinist.

The Psalms Project is a unique event combining performances of new sacred music with discussion of the Psalms. This interactive event features new psalm-inspired works written by an international collection of Jewish and Christian composers. Curated and produced by Deus Ex Musica.

Through a combination of live performances and informal discussions, this event invites listeners to consider the ways these new compositions respond to the Biblical texts that inspired them. What insight into these ancient poems do these works provide for us today? How do they help us experience the psalms in new ways? Can they teach us anything about the spiritual dimension of Scripture? What do they tell us about contemporary sacred music’s ability to contribute to dialogues about faith in our secular society?

Moderated by musician, scholar, and teacher Delvyn Case, this event is open to anyone. No religious background or musical experience is necessary. Attendees may participate in the discussion or simply enjoy the music and the conversation.

No tickets required. A retiring collection will be taken.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Emma-Marie Kabanova - D. Buxtehude - Sonata in A minor BuxWV 272.

Monday, 29 August 2022

Consenting Attention: Simone Weil's Prayer and the Poetry of Denise Levertov

For more on poets, attention and prayer (see my post Poets paying attention to prayer) see also the following:

A Poetics of Consenting Attention: Simone Weil's Prayer and the Poetry of Denise Levertov
Katy Wright-Bushman

Abstract: This article examines the practice of attention as a subject of Denise Levertov's poetry, one that emerges fully only after her commitment to Christianity and its convictions of immanent, incarnate transcendence. Simone Weil fluidly and precisely describes this practice and the receptive consent to the subject that accompanies it in her response to stark contemporary circumstances earlier in the century. I explore Levertov's exemplification of this practice in Weil's terms, arguing that Levertov's hesitant and late-arriving Catholicism, like Weil's own devotional experience, underwrites the responsorial practice of attention. It operates for Levertov as both a poetic method and as a response to contemporary questions of poetics and language, producing a poetics that privileges the possibility of knowing as love and speaking as prayer.

and

Poetry, Attentiveness and Prayer: One Poet's Lesson

Ed Block

Abstract: In The Grain of Wheat, Hans Urs von Balthasar quotes St. Basil on the intent contemplation of God's works. In Letters to Malcolm, C. S. Lewis speaks of making “every pleasure into a channel of adoration”, by praising “these pure and spontaneous pleasures” as “‘patches of Godlight’ in the woods of our experience.” According to Iris Murdoch, such attentiveness requires a degree of “selflessness” that resembles aesthetic contemplation and— it may be inferred — prayerful reflection. Using these passages and others by Kathleen Norris and Simone Weil, this essay offers related perspectives on the process and the effects of attentiveness, in poetry and prayer. Poets practise, and thereby teach an attentiveness that is analogous to that achieved in certain forms of prayer. Prayer, like poetry, gives thanks for the mysteries — even as it seeks to understand and respond to the injustices and sufferings — of life. Denise Levertov illustrates in her poetry an awareness of how such attentiveness can be productive, in her late religious poems especially.

These themes are also explored in ""passionate reverence / active love": Levertov and Weil in the Communion of Struggle" by Cynthia R. Wallace "in this need to dance/this need to kneel: Denise Levertov and the Poetics of Faith", edited by Michael P. Murphy and Melissa Bradshaw. Wipf and Stock, 2019.

That Denise Levertov (1923-97) was one of the most pioneering and skilled poets of her generation is beyond dispute. Her masterly use of language, innovative experimentations with organic form, and the political acuity disclosed by her activist poetry are well marked by critical communities. But it is also quite clear that the poems Levertov wrote in the last twenty years of her life, with their more explicit focus on theological themes and subjects, are among the best poems written on religious experience of any century, let alone the twentieth. The collection of essays gathered here shed vital light on this neglected aspect of Levertov studies so as to expand and enrich the scope of critical engagement. In a mixture of theoretical considerations and close readings, these essays provide valuable reflections about the complex relationship between poetry and belief and offer philosophically robust insights into different styles of poetic imagination. The abiding hope is to broaden the terrain for discussions in twenty-first-century theology, literary theory, poetics, and aesthetics--honoring immanence, exploring transcendence, and dwelling with integrity within the spaces between.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bill Fay - City Of Dreams.