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Lacunae: New Poems
New poetry from Scott Cairns on containing the uncontainable
Often, when speaking of what he has called the poetic operation of language , Scott Cairns has characterized that event as our “glimpsing an indeterminate, inexhaustible enormity within a discrete space.” This is the poet’s continuing fascination with lacunae , those spaces, those openings that offer more within than appearances can register from outside the ostensible covert of their terms. Cairns is here focused upon how an image, a word, or—in the case of the Theotokos— a womb can contain the uncontainable. As Orthodox hymnography avers, she is more spacious than the heavens. So, too, the poet suggests, in its own, modest way, the poem might give birth to more, and more, and yet more than even the poet supposes.
Often, when speaking of what he has called the poetic operation of language , Scott Cairns has characterized that event as our “glimpsing an indeterminate, inexhaustible enormity within a discrete space.” This is the poet’s continuing fascination with lacunae , those spaces, those openings that offer more within than appearances can register from outside the ostensible covert of their terms. Cairns is here focused upon how an image, a word, or—in the case of the Theotokos— a womb can contain the uncontainable. As Orthodox hymnography avers, she is more spacious than the heavens. So, too, the poet suggests, in its own, modest way, the poem might give birth to more, and more, and yet more than even the poet supposes.
- GenresPoetry
112 pages, Paperback
Published November 7, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 10, 2025
I’m too new to poetry to be an adequate judge of quality, but I enjoyed this rich collection of art, which contemplates containing the uncontainable, as every word does, and as Mary, the mother of God, contains the Word in her very body.
March 6, 2025
I know lots of people loved this poetry book. However, I found the chosen structure to be odd. I am new to poetry so it could just be me. However, none of the poems resonated enough for me to rate this higher. I’ll probably not read it again.
December 29, 2024
I'm so glad I discovered this author, fantastic read!! Simultaneously witty, spiritual, modern, and funny. Can't recommend highly enough.
January 16, 2024
What an incredible book.
In this gorgeous collection of new poems just released from Paraclete Press, Cairns explores “not so much an emptiness … / rather, a discrete / cove proving still to offer – and ever / to offer – what one cannot, can never, / comprehend” (from the poem, “Recuperating Lacunae). This collection is indeed a linguistic embodiment of “Endless / abundance, … / inexhaustible vastness for which I / ever ache.” I didn’t realize until I read this collection how much I ached for this abundance and vastness, too, until Cairns began to put into words his exploration of the inexplicable.
In these new poems, Cairns asks, challenges, and even cajoles the poem to do what it must do: “make / a new thing, even while / employing some / prior thing / generously given.” He also asks (with humbleness and humor) the reader to do their best to embrace the enormity of these concepts and reminds us of our place in that incomprehensible enormity, as well: “a … brief / taste of what we yet / hold within ourselves” (from the poem, “Endless Expanse Within).
As a result (and a successful one, I might add), Lacunae: New Poems becomes a 43-poem vessel that ferries the reader through themes of entry, descent, and the travel associated with pondering the uncontainable mystery and acceptance of the Christian life. “Your coracle awaits,” he writes in the poem, “Coracle.” “Embark.” This single poem, like this entire collection, becomes the small wicker boat in which we travel into these mysteries.
This collection also features Cairns’ usual wit, which is a welcome and unexpected lightness from the heavy beauty and themes of these poems that drape the reader like a velvet cloak. On more than one occasion, I laughed out loud. “I write to all y’all,” Cairns notes as “Your fond Isaak … if lately a little bit / judge-y.” In this humorous “Epistle to the Ostensible Church,” Cairns warms the soul with its peaceful observations which also convey weighty truths: “[W]e are all adopted … / co-opted into Christ’s holiness … / So relax.” Such humor is interspersed with Cairns’ rich knowledge and theological musings throughout the entire collection, and I loved encountering these moments while reading.
This collection of new poems is, quite honestly, profound, and I was sad when I got to the last page until I realized with the same heartbeat he writes about in one of the final poems, “Late Murmur,” that I could simply flip the pages back to the beginning and enter them again. This is a beautiful book, a precious gift, a thoughtful and mesmerizing collection that I can’t recommend highly enough.
In this gorgeous collection of new poems just released from Paraclete Press, Cairns explores “not so much an emptiness … / rather, a discrete / cove proving still to offer – and ever / to offer – what one cannot, can never, / comprehend” (from the poem, “Recuperating Lacunae). This collection is indeed a linguistic embodiment of “Endless / abundance, … / inexhaustible vastness for which I / ever ache.” I didn’t realize until I read this collection how much I ached for this abundance and vastness, too, until Cairns began to put into words his exploration of the inexplicable.
In these new poems, Cairns asks, challenges, and even cajoles the poem to do what it must do: “make / a new thing, even while / employing some / prior thing / generously given.” He also asks (with humbleness and humor) the reader to do their best to embrace the enormity of these concepts and reminds us of our place in that incomprehensible enormity, as well: “a … brief / taste of what we yet / hold within ourselves” (from the poem, “Endless Expanse Within).
As a result (and a successful one, I might add), Lacunae: New Poems becomes a 43-poem vessel that ferries the reader through themes of entry, descent, and the travel associated with pondering the uncontainable mystery and acceptance of the Christian life. “Your coracle awaits,” he writes in the poem, “Coracle.” “Embark.” This single poem, like this entire collection, becomes the small wicker boat in which we travel into these mysteries.
This collection also features Cairns’ usual wit, which is a welcome and unexpected lightness from the heavy beauty and themes of these poems that drape the reader like a velvet cloak. On more than one occasion, I laughed out loud. “I write to all y’all,” Cairns notes as “Your fond Isaak … if lately a little bit / judge-y.” In this humorous “Epistle to the Ostensible Church,” Cairns warms the soul with its peaceful observations which also convey weighty truths: “[W]e are all adopted … / co-opted into Christ’s holiness … / So relax.” Such humor is interspersed with Cairns’ rich knowledge and theological musings throughout the entire collection, and I loved encountering these moments while reading.
This collection of new poems is, quite honestly, profound, and I was sad when I got to the last page until I realized with the same heartbeat he writes about in one of the final poems, “Late Murmur,” that I could simply flip the pages back to the beginning and enter them again. This is a beautiful book, a precious gift, a thoughtful and mesmerizing collection that I can’t recommend highly enough.
January 4, 2025
The poems in Scott Cairns's Lacunae are informed by his Orthodox Christianity. As signaled by the collection's title, Cairns explores a variety of Greek theological terms and ideas in this book, some of which may yield insights for the non-Orthodox reader, but many of which will likely be alienating for the non-specialist reader due to their obscurity. There are, however, a number of poems here that center on nature and domestic life, and I found these to be consistently superior to the theological pieces. Those with more sophisticated theological understanding than I may disagree, but Cairns is at his best when reflecting on the physical world rather than the mysteries of spiritual experience. This being said, all of his poems have a quiet, contemplative quality that made reading this book enjoyable.
Finally, I read Lacunae on my Kindle, and the formatting was horrendous. The publisher failed to present the poems in a manner that respects the poet's formal approach, which is a real shame. It was often difficult to tell where one poem ends and the other begins, and I never once felt that I could trust the line breaks or spacing, so my review needs to be taken with the serious caveat that I could not really read these poems as poems due to the publisher's utter failure to present the work in an acceptable format. I strongly recommend against reading Lacunae on your Kindle.
Finally, I read Lacunae on my Kindle, and the formatting was horrendous. The publisher failed to present the poems in a manner that respects the poet's formal approach, which is a real shame. It was often difficult to tell where one poem ends and the other begins, and I never once felt that I could trust the line breaks or spacing, so my review needs to be taken with the serious caveat that I could not really read these poems as poems due to the publisher's utter failure to present the work in an acceptable format. I strongly recommend against reading Lacunae on your Kindle.
January 2, 2024
Thought-provoking
The poems in this slim volume will probably resonate with all spiritually-minded readers, but especially those in the Eastern Church. I say this because many of his poems involve views prevalent in Orthodox teachings. His deep experience of spirituality is evident, and informs his outlook as he grows older. Several poems center on family and growth with due attention to the lacunae, or empty spaces, in our lives age brings about.
The poems in this slim volume will probably resonate with all spiritually-minded readers, but especially those in the Eastern Church. I say this because many of his poems involve views prevalent in Orthodox teachings. His deep experience of spirituality is evident, and informs his outlook as he grows older. Several poems center on family and growth with due attention to the lacunae, or empty spaces, in our lives age brings about.
December 28, 2024
Deep and very thought-provoking.
January 21, 2025
Such persons prefer dream to flesh, prefer that
even their Holy One
remain both untouchable and unlikely to touch.
-Erotikos Logos, Again
even their Holy One
remain both untouchable and unlikely to touch.
-Erotikos Logos, Again
June 24, 2025
I love Scott Cairns and everything he does.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews