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After Prayer: New Sonnets and Other Poems
This major new poetry collection from best-selling poet and priest Malcolm Guite features more than 70 new and previously unpublished works.
At the heart of this collection is a sequence of 27 sonnets written in response to George Herbert’s exquisite sonnet "Prayer", each one describing prayer in an arresting metaphor such as "the church's banquet", "reversed thunder", "the Milky Way", "the bird of paradise", and "something understood". In conversation with each of these, Malcolm’s sonnets offer profound insights into the nature of communion with God in all circumstances and conditions.
Recognizing that all poetry is a pursuit of prayer, After Prayer also includes 45 more widely ranging new poems, including a sonnet sequence on the seven heavens.
At the heart of this collection is a sequence of 27 sonnets written in response to George Herbert’s exquisite sonnet "Prayer", each one describing prayer in an arresting metaphor such as "the church's banquet", "reversed thunder", "the Milky Way", "the bird of paradise", and "something understood". In conversation with each of these, Malcolm’s sonnets offer profound insights into the nature of communion with God in all circumstances and conditions.
Recognizing that all poetry is a pursuit of prayer, After Prayer also includes 45 more widely ranging new poems, including a sonnet sequence on the seven heavens.
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First published October 25, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
August 12, 2022
The brilliant and humble poet Malcolm Guite was kind enough to sign my copy of his wonderful book that I got from Blackwell's in Oxford, England. Reading it was a great joy, and reminded me that my hope is in the agape love of Christ.
November 3, 2024
Soul-touching verse that I found deeply beautiful. My favorites were The Christian Plummet and Christ’s Side-pearcing Spear…well, really, they were all so rich.
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November 22, 2019The poems on Herbert's "Prayer" alone are worth the price of the book.
July 4, 2021
Malcolm Guite's poetry continues to give me life and courage.
August 10, 2025
Enjoyed Guite’s reading of his poems - some I appreciated or understood more than others, but I do want a hard copy.
January 4, 2021
I was attracted to this book because… I have known of Malcom Guite for a quite a while. This was the first book of poems I have read of his.
This book was about… This a collection of sonnets and other poems. The title was taken from a series of poems. The first collection was in response to George Herbert’s poem, Prayer.
Things I liked about this book… It has been a while since I read poetry in a consistent manner. I read several poems a day. I was touched by the religious challenges, the imagery, and the magic of poetry. My creative brain was inspired by the poetry.
Why you should read this book… Guite provides great insight into some of the classic poems that will help you understand them better. He will encourage you with wonderful spiritual and natural insights.
This book lived up to the back cover copy…It does provide you with the right direction for the content of the book.
This book was about… This a collection of sonnets and other poems. The title was taken from a series of poems. The first collection was in response to George Herbert’s poem, Prayer.
Things I liked about this book… It has been a while since I read poetry in a consistent manner. I read several poems a day. I was touched by the religious challenges, the imagery, and the magic of poetry. My creative brain was inspired by the poetry.
Why you should read this book… Guite provides great insight into some of the classic poems that will help you understand them better. He will encourage you with wonderful spiritual and natural insights.
This book lived up to the back cover copy…It does provide you with the right direction for the content of the book.
May 27, 2023
When I think of poetry, this is what I think of. Rich, layered, deep, emotional and beautiful. I listened to it on Audible because it’s read by Guite himself. I could listen to him all day. Now the task is to read them again and reread them because there is so much to be found in the layers of his words. I’d love nothing more than to sit in his study while he smokes his pipe and talks about Tolkien and Lewis! His poetry reminds me of the strengthening power of beauty in this world.
June 13, 2024
A beautiful book. I listened to the audio version through hoopla and hearing it in Malcolm's voice was a treasure. I will probably listen again while I have it borrowed.
October 26, 2024
Wonderful. This unique collection of poetry speaks to the heart and voices what we both long to say, and long to have someone acknowledge. Malcolm Guite's style draws the reader in, and they leave with much more than they arrived with.
April 3, 2025
Absolutely beautiful.
June 25, 2023
Malcolm Guite’s Twitter bio begins with this surprising and auspicious combination of words: “priest, poet, rock'n'roller.” Indeed, for those unacquainted, Guite is a pipe-smoking, theology-teaching, Harley-riding, soul-caring, pub-playing, walk-taking, Eucharist-presiding, sonnet-composing enigma of a man. His Mystery Train bandmates call him “Rockin’ Rev.”
Others, having taken one honest look at him, sensibly go with “The Hobbit.” In a recent profile of Guite for Christianity Today, Kara Bettis writes, “Much like the sonnets he writes, he lives wholly in this world yet transports those around him to an ethereal one.”
Many of Guite’s books, like Waiting on the Word and Sounding the Seasons, are oriented around the liturgical calendar and lend themselves to seasonal reading. I also love Parable and Paradox, a collection of sonnets inspired by the sayings of Jesus. Now, I’ve just read After Prayer: New Sonnets and Other Poems (Canterbury), which is more of a hodgepodge—but in the richest possible sense.
The first part of the collection has 27 poems—each one a meditation on a particular phrase in George Herbert’s stunning poem about the many shapes prayer takes. One of these poems-in-response contains lines from a Beatles song as well as a nod to the Ships of Tarshish. Others are frankly heartbreaking, like the one that includes these lines: “Our prayers just break / Against what seem like walls of silent stone.”
Elsewhere in this collection is a series of poems written to accompany Marty O’Donnell’s music from the video game Destiny (“My response was to the music, rather than to the game,” he notes). “Sitting for Bruce” is about the experience of having his portrait created by Bruce Herman, a remarkable, soulful painter who also happens to be a friend of ours. And then there’s “A Rondeau for Leonard Cohen,” written, Guite says, “in response to his death and to all his music has meant to me.”
As I said, a hodgepodge in the richest possible sense. It’s a wonderful collection.
more at timhoiland.com
Others, having taken one honest look at him, sensibly go with “The Hobbit.” In a recent profile of Guite for Christianity Today, Kara Bettis writes, “Much like the sonnets he writes, he lives wholly in this world yet transports those around him to an ethereal one.”
Many of Guite’s books, like Waiting on the Word and Sounding the Seasons, are oriented around the liturgical calendar and lend themselves to seasonal reading. I also love Parable and Paradox, a collection of sonnets inspired by the sayings of Jesus. Now, I’ve just read After Prayer: New Sonnets and Other Poems (Canterbury), which is more of a hodgepodge—but in the richest possible sense.
The first part of the collection has 27 poems—each one a meditation on a particular phrase in George Herbert’s stunning poem about the many shapes prayer takes. One of these poems-in-response contains lines from a Beatles song as well as a nod to the Ships of Tarshish. Others are frankly heartbreaking, like the one that includes these lines: “Our prayers just break / Against what seem like walls of silent stone.”
Elsewhere in this collection is a series of poems written to accompany Marty O’Donnell’s music from the video game Destiny (“My response was to the music, rather than to the game,” he notes). “Sitting for Bruce” is about the experience of having his portrait created by Bruce Herman, a remarkable, soulful painter who also happens to be a friend of ours. And then there’s “A Rondeau for Leonard Cohen,” written, Guite says, “in response to his death and to all his music has meant to me.”
As I said, a hodgepodge in the richest possible sense. It’s a wonderful collection.
more at timhoiland.com
October 26, 2022
Not my personal favorite of Guite's, but some lovely work all the same. The first poems are in response to the imagery of George Herbert's "Prayer," and Guite devotes a sonnet to each of the 27 images Herbert used.
“Iona Song” (73)
Let meadows and let meadows, sea-green meadows
Lift from the waves that I am dreaming of.
Let shallows and let shallows, sun-lit shallows
Lap in the sunlight all my sea-shore love.
Let shadows and let shadows, fearful shadows
Leap from the light they dart and swoop above,
And dart through all my sorrows’ sorrows’ sorrows
Your sharp, delightful, fire-feathered dove.
“Four Voices” (76)
I am the Salamander and I shimmer in the fire
I thrive within a living flame, desiring to desire,
I burn away the dross in you, and teach you to aspire
I am your Salamander if you’ll kindle me a fire.
I am the Sylph who loved you once, a creature of the air,
I whisper just behind you but you never find me there.
I am the one you stifle when you give in to despair,
But I could breathe you back to life if you would give me air.
I am the dying Naiad in your long-neglected well,
I sing the very springs of love whose flow you fear and quell.
The sacred river rises here, if you will say the spell,
And listen for my weeping as it echoes from your well.
I am the sleeping Adam whom you buried in the earth
But give me fire, air, and rain, and I will give you birth.
“Nothing Said” (80)
I wish that I could tell you, but I can’t.
The sound sticks in my throat before I start.
You take an open question as a taunt,
I tell it whole, you take it all apart.
I wish that I could tell you, but I can’t.
You wouldn’t understand so what’s the point?
You tell me ‘there’s the devil still to pay’
And I reply ‘the times are out of joint’,
We lurch between quotation and cliché.
You wouldn’t understand so what’s the point?
And so we waste our words with nothing said.
You keep your counsel close and I keep mine.
We take our turns with trivia instead
Twittering down a tedious decline
And so we waste our words, with nothing said.
“Iona Song” (73)
Let meadows and let meadows, sea-green meadows
Lift from the waves that I am dreaming of.
Let shallows and let shallows, sun-lit shallows
Lap in the sunlight all my sea-shore love.
Let shadows and let shadows, fearful shadows
Leap from the light they dart and swoop above,
And dart through all my sorrows’ sorrows’ sorrows
Your sharp, delightful, fire-feathered dove.
“Four Voices” (76)
I am the Salamander and I shimmer in the fire
I thrive within a living flame, desiring to desire,
I burn away the dross in you, and teach you to aspire
I am your Salamander if you’ll kindle me a fire.
I am the Sylph who loved you once, a creature of the air,
I whisper just behind you but you never find me there.
I am the one you stifle when you give in to despair,
But I could breathe you back to life if you would give me air.
I am the dying Naiad in your long-neglected well,
I sing the very springs of love whose flow you fear and quell.
The sacred river rises here, if you will say the spell,
And listen for my weeping as it echoes from your well.
I am the sleeping Adam whom you buried in the earth
But give me fire, air, and rain, and I will give you birth.
“Nothing Said” (80)
I wish that I could tell you, but I can’t.
The sound sticks in my throat before I start.
You take an open question as a taunt,
I tell it whole, you take it all apart.
I wish that I could tell you, but I can’t.
You wouldn’t understand so what’s the point?
You tell me ‘there’s the devil still to pay’
And I reply ‘the times are out of joint’,
We lurch between quotation and cliché.
You wouldn’t understand so what’s the point?
And so we waste our words with nothing said.
You keep your counsel close and I keep mine.
We take our turns with trivia instead
Twittering down a tedious decline
And so we waste our words, with nothing said.
September 26, 2025
If you can't appreciate a well done sonnet then this book is not for you.
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January 25, 2025some of Guite's poems rang true:
"They brush me with their features, with the rumour
Of their flight, and something in me sings
Into their passing light, till my prayer-murmur,
Circles in the slipstream of their wings,
Is lifted up in grace to join with theirs"
there were a lot of sonnets, which maybe are not my favorite? not many of his poems hit the sweet spot for me of comprehensible yet leaving you feeling like you've been let in on a secret. I also think I like anthologies better than books by one poet - I get bored with the same style. these are things After Prayer helped me discover and I am grateful for that!
"They brush me with their features, with the rumour
Of their flight, and something in me sings
Into their passing light, till my prayer-murmur,
Circles in the slipstream of their wings,
Is lifted up in grace to join with theirs"
there were a lot of sonnets, which maybe are not my favorite? not many of his poems hit the sweet spot for me of comprehensible yet leaving you feeling like you've been let in on a secret. I also think I like anthologies better than books by one poet - I get bored with the same style. these are things After Prayer helped me discover and I am grateful for that!
December 4, 2025
This book shows that Malcom Guide is one of the better religious poets writing in English today. Through the lyrical and rhyming he gives us poems that are meaningful and a pleasure to read. Anyone who likes poetry will love this book, and even those who think that poetry is not something to applaud will find in this a thing worth reading.
Malcom Guide shows us through sonnets and songs his poetic capabilities and gives us proof that he is an excellent poet worthy of attention or consideration. A good book to have whether your are fan of poetry or not; believer or not a believer.
Malcom Guide shows us through sonnets and songs his poetic capabilities and gives us proof that he is an excellent poet worthy of attention or consideration. A good book to have whether your are fan of poetry or not; believer or not a believer.
February 24, 2020
Guite takes one of the greatest devotional poems ever crafted--George Herbert's Prayer--and marvellously unpacks each stunningly fresh and profound image, metaphor, and idea Herbert presents on prayer. The end result is a rich and rewarding reflection on the nuanced complexities of speaking with God. Guite also includes a variety of other poems as well. After Prayer is an excellent collection of poems.
January 14, 2023
Malcolm Guite is one of my favorite living poets (if my not my very favorite). This particular collection was a Christmas gift (yay!) and the first book I opened to begin the new year. I made myself savor it, reading only a handful of poems each day instead of devouring it. As with every book of poetry, there were some that grabbed my attention and some that were less impactful. But overall, a delightful book, one worthy of re-reading.
August 9, 2020
Stunning! Here are some highlights: 27 sonnets inspired by the imagery in George Herbert's poem "Prayer"; "The Seasons' Benedictions" and Seven poems from "Ordinary Saints"-- what a delight to find the artwork and music for which these poems were written, a beautiful immersive experience: www.ordinary-saints.com.
October 13, 2022
It was hard to know how to rate this book, although definitely not below a 3! A few of the poems were 5s, some lines within the poems were 4s, some were ok. That's the way with poetry. It's so personal. It's definitely worth a read, definitely worth a reflection, and definitely worth praying!
April 4, 2020
My Lent book 2020. I particularly enjoyed reading the poems inspired by Herbert together with Malcolm’s daily commentary on them on his blog where you can also hear him read them aloud.
August 13, 2020
What a great collection of poetry. Thought provoking, beautiful and a pleasure to read and re-read.
November 29, 2020
Poems that call to deep places in the soul, leading into prayer. A conversation with George Herbert's poem, as well as many other artists and writers. Wonderful on audio.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 25, 2021
Guite's great. Enjoyed reading these to my baby.
March 10, 2021
I listened to it as an audiobook read by the poet and it was slayingly good. Of course I now want to own the book, and I will definitely be relistening in the meantime.
March 12, 2022
Wonderful book of poems, even better if read out loud. "Aubade" was especially profound in its simplicity and call to new life.
August 24, 2022
I listened to this at work, in a vehicle, between multiple stops. I cannot recommend this approach. But, even with the many distraction I could sense the enchantment with which these were written.
January 19, 2023
I heard this on audio book through hoopla, where Malcolm Guite reads his own poetry. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I need to get the book and just pull it out to read when I can.
March 15, 2023
no I didn’t cry listening to his commentary poems on Herbert you can’t prove anything.
October 27, 2023
The first poems reflecting on George Herbert’s “Prayer” are worth the book.
January 12, 2024
This will be a collection I go back to many times to mine for new insights and experiences.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews