What do you think?
Rate this book
The Stranger: Poems
Palpant's second volume of poetry is a riff off of T.S. Eliot's character in Choruses From " The Rock," the one who knows how to ask questions. In The Stranger, Palpant attempts to answer the most troubling of all questions, "Where has God gone?" These poems offer ancient answers in a uniquely personal and contemporary way, exploring God's divine intrusion into our world in the person of Jesus Christ and his subsequent disruption of our existence. This book is one man's attempt to rise and meet the Stranger. Poetry that points our hearts and minds back to Jesus-sometimes humorously, sometimes fiercely, but always hopefully.
236 pages, Hardcover
Published February 16, 2021
2 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 18, 2021
“I want to hike up my trousers and
Wade into the sparkling stillness
To stand alone with you.
To dip my heart’s chalice and scoop more gladness.”
How thrilled I am for another volume of poetry from Ben Palpant. I love the conversation throughout the book with other poems and poets. I love the T.S. Eliot-inspired focus on Christ as the Stranger and the gift of new eyes to see Him, Scripture, myself, and the world around me. I love the progression from advent to ascension. I love Palpant’s way with words, which arrested my attention multiple times. At one point, I abruptly stopped reading aloud, let out a small gasp, and sat in stunned tears.
A beautifully done offering of praise.
(I received a free digital copy of this book from the author. This review is my honest assessment of its contents.)
Wade into the sparkling stillness
To stand alone with you.
To dip my heart’s chalice and scoop more gladness.”
How thrilled I am for another volume of poetry from Ben Palpant. I love the conversation throughout the book with other poems and poets. I love the T.S. Eliot-inspired focus on Christ as the Stranger and the gift of new eyes to see Him, Scripture, myself, and the world around me. I love the progression from advent to ascension. I love Palpant’s way with words, which arrested my attention multiple times. At one point, I abruptly stopped reading aloud, let out a small gasp, and sat in stunned tears.
A beautifully done offering of praise.
(I received a free digital copy of this book from the author. This review is my honest assessment of its contents.)
August 29, 2021
I read this one slowly and savored each poem. I thought nothing could match Palpant’s previous work, Sojourner Songs, which totally captivated me. Though I don’t think The Stranger quite competes with that work, it cemented my reverence for the author’s skill.
For me, many of these poems were surprising. Some were even shocking. At times they were irreverent, but honest and humble. They resonated with many different moods and corners of my heart. Some poems were delicious with delightful thrills. A few made me twitch with discomfort. They were brilliant.
Palpant mixes the sacred and the ordinary delights of life. He seems to go from catching minnows to pondering the essence of idolatry in a single pen stroke.
His metaphors were memorable.
The body is a “sack of old mushrooms”
There is the “motorboat still hauling its anchor... a wagon of worries”
We humans tend to “tangle God's lines” (fishing)
And then there’s the “holy cartwheeling”
He speaks of “Death's dynastic kingdom" (153)
Other times he is devotionally insightful. “I want...To seek intimacy with God more than healing from him.""
Peter, pondering his betrayal of Christ wonders, "Is a man what he has done or is he what has been done for him?" (156)
One of my favorites came at the end. Describing the power of words he calls poetry,
"Spilling gold, sunrise, splashing fresh fire. My secret heart, an overturned pale of stars..." (225)
I’m thankful Ben Palpant has overturned his pale of stars for us. I can’t wait to read what comes next.
For me, many of these poems were surprising. Some were even shocking. At times they were irreverent, but honest and humble. They resonated with many different moods and corners of my heart. Some poems were delicious with delightful thrills. A few made me twitch with discomfort. They were brilliant.
Palpant mixes the sacred and the ordinary delights of life. He seems to go from catching minnows to pondering the essence of idolatry in a single pen stroke.
His metaphors were memorable.
The body is a “sack of old mushrooms”
There is the “motorboat still hauling its anchor... a wagon of worries”
We humans tend to “tangle God's lines” (fishing)
And then there’s the “holy cartwheeling”
He speaks of “Death's dynastic kingdom" (153)
Other times he is devotionally insightful. “I want...To seek intimacy with God more than healing from him.""
Peter, pondering his betrayal of Christ wonders, "Is a man what he has done or is he what has been done for him?" (156)
One of my favorites came at the end. Describing the power of words he calls poetry,
"Spilling gold, sunrise, splashing fresh fire. My secret heart, an overturned pale of stars..." (225)
I’m thankful Ben Palpant has overturned his pale of stars for us. I can’t wait to read what comes next.
April 29, 2021
I’ve thought of many ways in which to review this book; It’s very hard to put into words anything it would match what the experience was like. It’s hard to give back so much less than what you’ve taken.
I read this book slowly and I reread it again and again. There is a lot to digest here. I know this - I will definitely be returning to this book over the years, should I be granted them, perhaps especially when I don’t want to be honest with myself about myself.
Ben Palpant is honest to a point of pain. But it’s a friendly pain - the kind that comes from an expert surgeon. He doesn’t let you alone, he keeps cutting and cutting and cutting until the cancer is gone. There is also a gentleness about this book which must spring from personal experience with life. Having read A Small Cup of Light, I may be overthinking it.
Another thing - poetry is often obscure. It is as if the job of the poet is to first observe and then to obscure in order to make the reader really work to unearth the depths of what the poet was thinking (more than mere Seinfeldian observations). But here, the obscurity isn’t so opaque that it leaves you wondering what you’re reading. Instead it acts as a sort of catalyst which tells your mind “its time to engage”. What you don’t reckon on is that once your mind is engaged, there’s no barrier to your heart here. And that’s a good thing.
Heartily recommend this volume!
I read this book slowly and I reread it again and again. There is a lot to digest here. I know this - I will definitely be returning to this book over the years, should I be granted them, perhaps especially when I don’t want to be honest with myself about myself.
Ben Palpant is honest to a point of pain. But it’s a friendly pain - the kind that comes from an expert surgeon. He doesn’t let you alone, he keeps cutting and cutting and cutting until the cancer is gone. There is also a gentleness about this book which must spring from personal experience with life. Having read A Small Cup of Light, I may be overthinking it.
Another thing - poetry is often obscure. It is as if the job of the poet is to first observe and then to obscure in order to make the reader really work to unearth the depths of what the poet was thinking (more than mere Seinfeldian observations). But here, the obscurity isn’t so opaque that it leaves you wondering what you’re reading. Instead it acts as a sort of catalyst which tells your mind “its time to engage”. What you don’t reckon on is that once your mind is engaged, there’s no barrier to your heart here. And that’s a good thing.
Heartily recommend this volume!
April 9, 2021
In a world where many know little about Jesus or have forgotten his significance, he has become like a stranger to us—sometimes welcome, sometimes unwanted, but ever present to challenge our suppositions and call us to a better way.
Inspired by T. S. Eliot, Ben Palpant has penned an intriguing collection of poems
to explore the ‘Stranger’s’ intrusion into our world and answer the question, ‘Where has God gone?’ The 112 poems are collated under seven sections that focus on Christ’s advent, arrival, healings, voice, death, resurrection and ascension.
Some of the poems are inspired by particular scriptures or Biblical figures such as Lazarus, Peter, Judas and Mary of Bethany. Seeing the world through their eyes helps to bring the truth of scripture into focus in a different way. For example, consider the following lines from ‘Broken Beautiful Beautifying’:
"But when she breaks the vessel of nard—
a broken vessel holding a broken vessel—
and spills it over his feet,
its aroma arouses the world’s silence.
Minds stretch. Hearts reach out straining
Give us more give us more give us more of this
broken beautiful beautifying."
Poems like this invite us to explore our relationship with God, sometimes bringing comfort and assurance, as in the poem ‘Unresting Love’, and other times confronting us with our doubts, fears and unanswered questions, as in the poem ‘Everything is Not Fine’:
"what if God moonwalked into this eroding story
backwarding our desires and kicking down
our precious word towers?
would we bind him with rope?
press him into the ground?
put a bullet in his head?
do we cherish our unanswered questions?
do we cherish our womb of worms?
why do we celebrate the rage we cannot slake?"
Palpant uses beautiful imagery and the poems are generally accessible, though I found a few of them more difficult to fathom. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as it can make you stop and think more about the words. I also liked the original spin he puts on some well-known Bible passages. For example, in ‘Cleopas, the Disciple, Recounts’, the walk to Emmaus is modernised, complete with plastic chairs and flank steaks being tossed on the grill. I also liked the uniqueness of ‘Mary’s Punctuation’, in which ‘It is finished!’ is the exclamation point, a stone being rolled ‘against the door of the tomb’ is the full stop, and ‘Where have you taken The Lord I love?’ is the question mark.
Overall, this is a masterful work, with many poems that draw you in and entice you to reconsider what Christ has done for us:
"God, look at this shocking plot of land,
Upspringing green and
Rioting into realization of all that I have gained:
The keen awareness of grace.
All my tomorrows are dyed by surprise,
Leaving me with joy and the eyes to enjoy it." (from ‘Apples on the Ground, Part 2).
A worthy collection for anyone who wants to look at Christ with new eyes.
N.B. Thank you to the author for providing me with a free pdf copy for the purposes of review. All opinions are my own.
Inspired by T. S. Eliot, Ben Palpant has penned an intriguing collection of poems
to explore the ‘Stranger’s’ intrusion into our world and answer the question, ‘Where has God gone?’ The 112 poems are collated under seven sections that focus on Christ’s advent, arrival, healings, voice, death, resurrection and ascension.
Some of the poems are inspired by particular scriptures or Biblical figures such as Lazarus, Peter, Judas and Mary of Bethany. Seeing the world through their eyes helps to bring the truth of scripture into focus in a different way. For example, consider the following lines from ‘Broken Beautiful Beautifying’:
"But when she breaks the vessel of nard—
a broken vessel holding a broken vessel—
and spills it over his feet,
its aroma arouses the world’s silence.
Minds stretch. Hearts reach out straining
Give us more give us more give us more of this
broken beautiful beautifying."
Poems like this invite us to explore our relationship with God, sometimes bringing comfort and assurance, as in the poem ‘Unresting Love’, and other times confronting us with our doubts, fears and unanswered questions, as in the poem ‘Everything is Not Fine’:
"what if God moonwalked into this eroding story
backwarding our desires and kicking down
our precious word towers?
would we bind him with rope?
press him into the ground?
put a bullet in his head?
do we cherish our unanswered questions?
do we cherish our womb of worms?
why do we celebrate the rage we cannot slake?"
Palpant uses beautiful imagery and the poems are generally accessible, though I found a few of them more difficult to fathom. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as it can make you stop and think more about the words. I also liked the original spin he puts on some well-known Bible passages. For example, in ‘Cleopas, the Disciple, Recounts’, the walk to Emmaus is modernised, complete with plastic chairs and flank steaks being tossed on the grill. I also liked the uniqueness of ‘Mary’s Punctuation’, in which ‘It is finished!’ is the exclamation point, a stone being rolled ‘against the door of the tomb’ is the full stop, and ‘Where have you taken The Lord I love?’ is the question mark.
Overall, this is a masterful work, with many poems that draw you in and entice you to reconsider what Christ has done for us:
"God, look at this shocking plot of land,
Upspringing green and
Rioting into realization of all that I have gained:
The keen awareness of grace.
All my tomorrows are dyed by surprise,
Leaving me with joy and the eyes to enjoy it." (from ‘Apples on the Ground, Part 2).
A worthy collection for anyone who wants to look at Christ with new eyes.
N.B. Thank you to the author for providing me with a free pdf copy for the purposes of review. All opinions are my own.
May 14, 2021
Challenging, poignant, stretching. Do you know The Stranger? The Stranger knows you. Just as I periodically return to Mr. Palpant’s Sojourner Songs I will return to The Stranger.
I received a free PDF version for review, but quickly ordered a hard copy for my library. Other reviews are more thorough and helpful than mine so please read them.
I received a free PDF version for review, but quickly ordered a hard copy for my library. Other reviews are more thorough and helpful than mine so please read them.
September 15, 2021
4.5 I do not read as much poetry as I should, so I feel a little out of place offering my thoughts on this one. But as a lay reader of poetry, I offer this: Many of these poems made me cry and stirred deep emotions, letting the truth rise to the top. These poems are certainly full of truth. Not all of them are beautiful, nor are they trying to be beautiful, but the style matches the truth is tells. I delighted most in the middle portions of the book, where my favorite things were brought to new light. I would like to return to this collection again, and that is certainly the sign of a good book.
September 5, 2021
I did not read these poems at a slow and measured pace, as they deserve. Once I started the book (a bit reluctantly, because of my prejudices against poetry), I gulped them down. I couldn’t really do anything else. Next year, I’ll pace myself.
There were a few times when I could feel a compound fracture in my perspective being violently (and artfully) reset. Grateful.
There were a few times when I could feel a compound fracture in my perspective being violently (and artfully) reset. Grateful.
January 30, 2025
This would be an amazing read for Lent fyi
July 7, 2021
When Ben Palpant asked if I would read and review The Stranger, I was elated, having loved his earlier Sojourner Songs. But these new poems were disorienting, harsher than I expected, and progress was slower than I would have wished. Then the Lord gave me a long flight with a toddler asleep on my lap, and I found myself enthralled with the poems, saw myself in them, found myself tearful at their truth. Palpant’s sections build, one on another, the harsh disorientation necessary for us to feel the surprise and joy of the love revealed. I want to read them again, sit in, and savor them.
I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review, but I’ll be ordering a hard copy for myself soon!
I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review, but I’ll be ordering a hard copy for myself soon!
February 28, 2021
The Stranger is a marvelous achievement. These are God haunted poems. He appears as a bugler, a creator, and even the wounded healer that Eliot once knew. "... I must not helmet my heart," Palpant writes in this career-defining collection of poems. And yet, is this not a reasonable inclination after a century of priests and kings reading supposed lines from God's obituary? The Stranger offer ample reason to put down shield and armor long enough to see (as Hopkins once did) a world "charged with the grandeur of God." The poems in this collection are audacious, thought provoking, and possess a quality that is strangely absent in so much contemporary verse. Namely, the sublime.
Read
February 24, 2021T.S. Eliot aspired that each poem he wrote should be an event. Pilgrimaging alongside Ben Palpant’s The Stranger proved to be, indeed, an enthralling event! This stunning collection of poems sweeps as wide as it delves deep: Palpant gives varied and profound voice to the longings, sufferings and joys of faith within the framework of Christ’s own coming, incarnation, death and resurrection. With an ardent love of the word and The Word, Palpant provocatively displays poetry as prayer, praise and power.
September 28, 2022
This collection of poems has been my companion during a long, slow walk across many days, and I am so grateful for it. Palpant's poetic gift is a blessing ever unfolding. Read these aloud. Read them alone. Read them together. Read and reread.
March 10, 2022
I am not a poetry kind of guy... I have always struggled to truly appreciate it and understand it. But Ben Palpant has a way with words that truly can capture the mind and heart.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews