Singing the Words
For many of us, the source and power of poetry lies in its oral performance. It is first of all an oral and auditory medium. Indeed, this power of the spoken word is recognized in our major religious traditions. The Qu’ran means literally “the recitation.” Christians and Jews still approach the Bible in worship by [...]
TURNINGS: POEMS OF TRANSFORMATION
I am very happy to announce that a collection of my poems, TURNINGS: POEMS OF TRANSFORMATION, has been brought out by Wipf and Stock Publishers, of Eugene, Oregon. The striking cover does a fine job of bringing together the sense of mystery out of which our human experience comes, the rough pen we have used [...]
Homer, Chiefs, and Presidents
While visiting in Cape Town, I recently had the pleasure of taking a summer school course at the University of Cape Town on Homer’s Iliad, from Professor Richard Whitaker, who has recently translated it into a South African context and idiom. (The Iliad of Homer: A Southern African Translation.) Like most of us, I had [...]
Zebras, Robots, and Homer
After a five year absence we have returned to our beloved Cape Town, land of the humped zebra. No it’s not a cross between a dromedary and a zebra. But it does cause a real bump in the road if you hit it. And if you don’t obey the lights at the “robot” at the [...]
keep looking »
wood upon a lathe, these poems are word-turnings that reveal the inner grain of our human experience. They are bowls to catch our turnings of memory, conversion, falling in love, and passing through our seasons and the wrenching turns that mark our lives. Above all these turnings are a shout of praise, a murmur of wonder, a turning away from life as usual, a merciful re-turning to the songs, images and stories that move our lives.
Red Clay, Blood River