Communion

by Curtis Smith

Literary Nonfiction. Essay. In this collection of twenty-one essays, Curtis Smith explores religion and fear, memory and dreams, aging and happiness, with the skill bestowed only to masters of their craft. The eloquent pieces in COMMUNION address a father's love for his child and the moments he knows will be gone all too quickly. Seen through the eyes of an older parent, we are spared the sentimentality and clichés of childrearing, and instead gifted the rare and laconic wisdom of a father who understands, in the present, the gravity of each conversation or hike into the woods with his son. Smith's sincere modesty, coupled with his precise prose, gives this new collection its charm and heft. The essays in COMMUNION reiterate what it means to be a father, and invite us to follow a son as he leaves the insulated world of childhood and to wish him well as though he was our own.

153 pages, Paperback

First published April 3, 2015

Reviews

[Clifford · Rating 5 out of 5]

A graceful meditation on fatherhood. See my full review here: Review of Communion

[John Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Communion is a book of coming together, of quiet meditation and careful introspection; a book that examines the secular religions of family, friends, home, and work, by a non-beleiver from small town Pennsylvania, with a curious mind and gentle spirit, in full control of a prose that's clean as bone. Several of these essays made me catch my breath for their craftsmanship alone. Though the essays are brief, the collection is a unified whole. "My son," as the narrator always refers to him--nameless but imbued with personality--is a bright presence at the center of the book's galaxy. He shares the narrator's curious spirit, and inspires his explorations into their experiences, shared and separate. This character, and the constant refrain of "my son," makes the essays feel tightly connected, and rewards the reader who sits with the book for long stints. In the end, though, what I wind up liking most is Curtis Smith himself--or rather, his nonfictional persona--who invites us to see, to think, and to feel the world passing. His tone is somber, but never melancholy. Communion is that rarest of things: a quiet celebration of what really matters.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I will never know what waits ahead; I will never know anything beyond the fact that one by one we will leave each other."

Beautiful meditation on faith, mortality, happiness, childhood, fatherhood et al. Smith's style- the thoughtful clarity of his writing, the lyrical humility of his tone - is a gift to readers.

[Robert Vaughan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a rare treat to read thoughtful, meditative, lovely writing on small town America, father-son, family matters, and sentimental yet not cloying prose. This book is so generous in its content, so lovingly handled in subject matter. It's not an easy task to write about such intimacy without prose becoming over-precious. Smith's touch is perceptive, and gentle. These essays made me weep for the beauty that exists in the human soul, how vulnerable we are, and how deeply one can still live despite the daily challenges to be human. Also a reminder to be continually aware, present, alert.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

These essays are like koans, full of triumph and enlightenment.

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