Divine Inspiration: The Life of Jesus in World Poetry
Atwan (founder and series editor of "The Best American Essays"), George Dardes (English, Allendale Columbia Sch.), and Rosenthal offer a collection of 280 poems that are based on passages from the Gospels. This is not "religious poetry" per se; indeed, some of the poems are written by atheists. The book is arranged chronologically according to the life of Jesus. A scriptural passage is given in the New Revised Standard Version, followed by one or more poems inspired by or making allusion to the passage. The choice of poets covers a wide spectrum both temporally and geographically, ranging from early Christian poetry (in modern translation) to poetry that mentions Rodney King, offering European, African, Asian, and American verse, and including some well-known poems and some that have never been anthologized. Recommended for most collections.?Augustine J. Curley, Newark Abbey, N.J.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.