I Gave Her a Name

by Rachel Hunt Steenblik, Ashley Mae Hoiland (Illustrator)

Rachel Hunt Steenblik and Ashley Mae Hoiland are pilgrims, dreamers, ex plorers in search of our Heavenly Mother and the country where she dwells. Together they have created a record of their journey, an exploration in visual and literary art, of their search. They search everywhere—looking back at mothers and grandmothers and forward to mothering their own daughters and sons. They consider giving birth, nursing, and nurturing children as experiences women share with their Mother. They examine seasons, maple trees, the moon, dragonflies, spiders, bears and eagles as metaphors for Her beauty, fierceness, and power. They re-read, re-write, and re-interpret scripture to apply to women as well as men. They consider Eve, Mary, Emmeline, Emma, Sophia, Penelope, Hannah, and many other women for clues. They learn individual lessons about Mother from a broad community of friends, family, writers, and poets (the sources are indicated in page after page of notes at the end of the collection). Hoiland’s drawings, evocative in both line and color, invite a deeper and prolonged attention to Hunt Steenblik’s poems. These two fine artists attempt to reach through language and visual art toward spiritual truth.That attempt requires openness, simplicity, repetition, pauses, and space for the reader. This is a book to read slowly, to consider, to savor. The gifts it offers will last.—Susan Elizabeth Howe, co-editor of Two Centuries of Poems y Mormon Women and author of Salt

Genres: Poetry, Religion, Lds, Faith, Own

314 pages, Paperback

Published March 25, 2019

About the author

Mormon feminist theologian and poet.

Reviews

[Steven Peck · Rating 5 out of 5]

These poems and imagines feel sacred and earthy, immediate and immanent. I lost my mother two years ago and as I read Rachel Steenblik’s enchanting poems and poured over Ashley Mae Hoiland’s sublime art, I thought how much I would have liked to share these with her. She lost her mother when she was just a little girl, and her entire life she felt motherless and alone. Her whole life her mother and her heavenly mother were covered in clouds and mists she could never penetrate, but I know wanted to. How beautiful she would have found this work’s lifting of the shroud. I woke this morning and in the dawn of Easter morning read these poems and was reminded how deeply I miss my own mother, but this beautiful book allowed me to picture these three mothers, who had missed each other for so long, at last, gathered together to share their stories. Thank you Rachel and Ashmae for the start of a gorgeous morning remembering my mothers.

[Zac]

I read Hunt Steenblik’s first volume of poetry last year and was so grateful for the way it expanded my concept of divinity, especially a Heavenly Mother, and volume two provided more of that. I don’t expect poetry will ever be a real favorite for me, but I loved that these books helped change my thinking.

[emilee · Rating 5 out of 5]

lovely. nodded my head through the whole book.

[Joni Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book to read, to re-read, to cherish, to love, to annotate, to bathe in.

[Annabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this poetry collection. And then read it again. And then think and pray and read and worship and write and read and do it all again.

[Lyndsey Thackston · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked Mother’s Milk but this was a more refined version. I will keep coming back to these poems
Hopefully for the rest if my life.

[Haley Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I had this book when I was in YW!

[GreenJellybean · Rating 1 out of 5]

It didn't work for me; I generally love poetry, but this poetry was predictable and monotonous. Too heavily focused on what I believe is mortal motherhood. I was disappointed.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rachel Hunt Steenblik has done it again with as much magic and surprise as ever. I'm mesmerized by her ability to capture the personal, the elemental, the fleeting daily moments, beloved scriptural stories, and even pop culture references to weave together this stunning whole. The stitching is made up of close observation, keen feeling, urgent questions, a confident voice, and abundant intelligence. This is a sacred act of bundling. The illustrations by Ashely Mae Hoiland in the full-color edition are a must see. Breathtaking work.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wonderful friend, Carrie, gifted me this book for Christmas. I didn’t read it cover to cover, probably missed some pages. I’ve never read a book like it - a collection of short thoughts, poems, and paintings all about motherhood and our Divine Mother in Heaven. I enjoyed the messages of Steenblik’s writings and Hoiland’s paintings, although it is a challenge for me to interpret poetry and art. My brain is not as creative and free as theirs.

I gave Her a name too.

[Exponent II · Rating 5 out of 5]

By LMA

I have written on the blog about my experience reading Rachel Hunt Steenblik’s poems for the first time. I wrote that reading her poems was like finding water in the desert, and it still is. One of the major reasons for this is my relationship with my mom. I’m not able to have almost any contact with my mom, and it’s one of the most delicate, excruciating, and devastating things that’s happened to me. I’m not able to call her for help, just to talk, or to feel comforted, and connected, and safe. Not having that ability or choice creates a wound so painful and that there aren’t words for it. Because of that, developing and being comforted by my connection to Heavenly Mother and other women around me is one of the most precious resources I have.

There are so many important themes that are explored in the lovely book “I Gave Her a Name.” Here are a few that brought me so much comfort and connection to myself and to Heavenly Mother:

Theme 1: Heavenly Mother is multifaceted and complex, and embodies dialectical and opposing traits. This is one of the things I loved most about how Heavenly Mother is represented in this book. The poems make clear Heavenly Mother is not just one thing, and she embodies multiple opposing traits and characteristics at any given moment. For example, Heavenly Mother simultaneously embodies both profound power and softness. In the poem “Her Brightness and Glory,” (p. 58), it says she “is total brightness, then darkness, then brightness again.” In addition, Heavenly Mother is also powerful, assertive, brave, and directive (see What Lin Taught Me, p. 14) and at the same time, also extremely delicate and gentle (see Somewhere to Lay His Head, p. 55). I love this because different children and different circumstances require Heavenly Mother to use and exercise different traits in our behalf. Sometimes she needs to be very power-assertive and directive in helping protect and attend to her children. Sometimes she needs to be very soft and delicate. The poems in “I Gave Her a Name” illustrate how she embodies both, and does so with confidence and self-assurance.

To continue reading: https://www.the-exponent.com/book-rev...

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating collection. In some ways, I feel like Hunt Steenblik and Hoiland create their own genre here. I wouldn’t call most of it poetry in the conventional sense (although there are some truly lovely poems here), but more of a quilt of ideas, moments, meditations, and images that are tied together in the same way the kinds of poetry collections I enjoy reading are. And I found this approach more effective for what they are seeking to accomplish than longer-form poems would be, because each meditation strove to capture one small moment or concept, and I love the way the form captures that if I go through life open to these little moments of truth and divinity, each little point can add up into something robust and powerful. It made me want to go through life seeking those little moments.

I was also fascinated by the way the authors kind of flipped the way we look at Divine Nature in many of the poems and images. When it comes to God the father, we have a chunk of documented traits we can track back to (I.e. God is patient, so when I am patient, I am channeling that aspect of my divine nature). But the record is thinner for God the mother. The authors look for the sparks of divinity they see in the women and world around them, and see what it can teach them about Her. It can be a rather subjective process, and I can’t say I always agreed with the interpretations, but wow, did it make me consider things from different angles, and make me consider what I can learn about Her from the women that have shaped me.

I should also note that if you know this collection is your kind of book, and you are debating whether the color edition is worth it, I’ll put it out there that I wish I had gone for it. Color is so important in Hoiland’s work, and I think the images play a larger role in the narrative than the previous collection. I can tell I missed something by only seeing the images in black and white. But I am glad BCC Press made a more affordable edition available, because I don’t think I would have splurged on the full color, and I would have missed a lovely reading experience.

[A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had some mixed feelings about this. Like the first book, I didn't feel like the poems were especially stellar in technique and depth as poems themselves. They feel more like little thoughts, with line breaks. Which might do it for some people, but it's not what I'm looking for when I go to read poetry. Because of that, I felt like a lot of the 'poems' lacked the depth and turn that I love in poetry.

There were, however, a few longer poems that DID, and I liked those a lot more. On the whole, I had less eye-opening discovery reading this collection on Heavenly Mother than I did reading the first collection. Not all of her feelings about Heavenly Mother resonated with me personally. But I don't think they have to; it was still interesting and I am very glad this collection exists.

[Kalisha Grimsman · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me this book didn't give me "aha" like the first collection of poems did. After I read the first collection I felt I wanted to read this one. However, there were some stand out ones that I copied into a journal to reflect on later. Like other reviewers mention, there's quite a few analogies that don't resonate with me or feel like my own personal experience with Heavenly Mother, but I don't mind. I like hearing her thoughts and where she goes with them. I appreciate the author's thoughts although the style of poetry isn't quite what I always consider a poem– more like a thought, a tidbit. Some of the longer ones better encapsulate the ideas she is going for. Overall I think her ideas and poems are very much needed in the ongoing conversation about the Divine Mother.

[Kylie]

Virtuous. Lovely. Of Good Report, and Praiseworthy.

I loved Mother’s Milk and enjoyed this collection as well.

Some Favorites:
- The God Who Weeps
- Proxies
- Jane (!!!!!)
- She Casts the First and Last Stones
- Divine Nature
- Good Works
- She Witnesses
- After Creation
- Abish
- The Mother Carries Tissue
- Prodigal Daughter
- What a Mother Does
- Zelophead’s Daughters
- Other Things That Will Not Separate Us a from Her Love
- The Name I Call Her


And more.

[Sarah Curry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Mother’s Milk, and I loved I Gave Her a Name. This collection shows that Rachel’s relationship with the Mother has matured and deepened, much like my own. I learn so much about who She is every time I turn to Rachel’s work. I cannot recommend these collections enough. The words are healing and the illustrations are gorgeous (even in B&W). We do not live in a Motherless house.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the time I ordered this book, I wasn't aware that they'd made a FULL COLOR special edition, and I'm very sad that I didn't order that one as the art work in this is wonderful.

The poems in this are in the same vein as Mother's Milk, but the poems are generally longer and more substantial, so it's even more satisfying. I'll read it over and over as I have with Mother's Milk.

[Emilee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hearth, helping hands, love, empathy, wrapped.

“The Mother reminds us of
The wisdom of cycles
in the earth, the seasons,
the moon, our bodies,
and ourselves.
She whispers when to
be slow and sleep
and when to speed
back up and wake,
when to grow and
die and grow
again.”

My favorite (but barely) of the book. Need to just buy my own copies.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of mixed emotions reading this. There is certainly a lot of beautiful, thought provoking imagery in here. I enjoyed Mother's Milk better though. This book just seemed to have more of an agenda, which, maybe was the point. It just wasn't what I expected and wasn't always subtle. I'd love to get my hands on the color print version to better enjoy the artwork.

[Kaylee Petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a follow up to Mothers Milk but they can be read and enjoyed in any order. This book was about 2x as thick and just as enjoyable. The poetry touches on personal experiences where the reader can still feel connections. It was beautiful and simple and pulls from scripture, family, doctrine, and current media. Very enjoyable and I will be sharing this with loved ones!

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful collection of poems and paintings reaching towards God the Mother. Some of them touched me deeply, and I feel like they were teaching me how to see the feminine divine all around me all the time. A healing book.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful follow-up to Mother's Milk. I highly recommend keeping a bookmark in the notes section in the back so you can read the notes about many of the poems as you go through the book -- totally enhanced the experience for me. Lovely, thought-provoking, and so necessary.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took this book in slow, savoring the poems that will add to our canon of a divine feminine. I keep thinking of the line “God is not patriarchy” and every poem here that lifts me in own my journey decoupling patriarchy from divinity and sanctifying my womanhood/motherhood.

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The way Rachel Hunt Steenblik unabashedly sees Mother God in daily snippets is inspiring. I want to see divinity and resilience and femininity more. I want to connect with those things in myself enough to observe the anecdotes around me that attest of those things.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I prefer the shorter book. This had some lovely poems in it, though. Maybe it suffers from the lack of novelty that the first book had? I liked it. I didn't get the version with the color images, so I can't say anything about that.Absolutely would gift this book.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

They say poetry is to name the ache. What steenblik's poems might lack in craft, they make up for in felt longing for the divine feminine. Hoiland's accompanying art alone is worth owning a copy of this collection.

[Ashley Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided to give this author another shot, based on my critique of Mother’s Milk feeling incomplete. This book is similar but supposed to be expanded. It is twice as long but felt equally as unsatisfying.

Again, I enjoyed the notes section.

[Marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each poem Rachel writes fills a hole in my heart about Heavenly Mother I didn’t know was there. So beautiful. I will be rereading her words for years to come.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this so much. Beautiful, resonant poetry that made me feel closer to the divine, and brought divinity closer to my daily life. I just wish I had bought the full-color edition!

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Also 500 stars