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Cross Sections: A Poetry Collection
"Cross Sections is a powerful book of poetry-as-prayers weaving together Christian imagery, tradition, progressive theology, and fresh vision. For those of us familiar with scripture, especially, Schur's words challenge us to boldly and tenderly engage some of the verses and stories that are so familiar to us that they have otherwise gone stale in our hearts. Cross Sections gives space to all human emotions on both the individual and communal level, and reminds us of the holiness of our own experiences with lament, questions, rage, and doubt."
Elle Dowd (she/her), activist and ELCA candidate for ministry, author of Baptized in Tear From White Moderate to Abolitionist
"For the devout Christian to the agnostic to the atheist, Matt Schur's poems supply the reader with an edifying and informing examination of what it means to be a Christian wrestling, like St. Augustine before him, with various questions of meaning, purpose, and faith, punctuated with a refreshing and lyrical candor."
Erik Campbell, author of The Corpse Pose
"Cross Sections is moving and important. Like many Christians today, I am asking new questions, many of which are echoed in Matt's writing. He voices the frustration and confusion we currently face, but remains humble, human, and hopeful."
Jen Smedley of #imomsohard, author/comedian
"In Cross Sections, Matt Schur takes us with him on a journey into his soul. He keeps his eyes fully open to the pressing issues of both his personal past and this troubled world, while remaining equally fully grounded in his faith. Juxtaposing beautiful love from God with the pain of daily life (childhood loss, grief, depression, adult trauma, racism, sexism, idolatry), he offers us a raw, candid, totally authentic look into what it means to walk with God. If you are looking for a book of simple Christian platitudes, this is not it. But if you want a companion on your spiritual journey, who knows that real anger, doubt, and sadness can coexist with celebration, joy, and deep communion with God and others, you will want to read every word this book offers -- slowly, reverently, questioningly, bringing your real self to the Presence of the Holy, just as Cross Sections does. You will be challenged here, and you will be richly rewarded."
Rev. Stephanie Lape, ELCA pastor and author of Hearing God's Call to Deeper Faith
"This collection is like a living museum, each piece a strange new diorama inviting you to step inside and look around and discover. Matt's words will do things to knock down your idols, expose your phony do-gooder conscience, scramble your notions of what is truly holy, problematize your pieties, and interrogate both your grandiosity and your self-loathing. A brilliant and deliciously eclectic collection of prophetic, de-centering, daring, and sometimes profoundly comforting poems."
Mark Stenberg, Ph.D, author of 51% Faith After Certainty
"Matt shares his faith vulnerably in a way that moves past cliched Christian 'insider-speak' and gets into the heart of genuine faith.
Elle Dowd (she/her), activist and ELCA candidate for ministry, author of Baptized in Tear From White Moderate to Abolitionist
"For the devout Christian to the agnostic to the atheist, Matt Schur's poems supply the reader with an edifying and informing examination of what it means to be a Christian wrestling, like St. Augustine before him, with various questions of meaning, purpose, and faith, punctuated with a refreshing and lyrical candor."
Erik Campbell, author of The Corpse Pose
"Cross Sections is moving and important. Like many Christians today, I am asking new questions, many of which are echoed in Matt's writing. He voices the frustration and confusion we currently face, but remains humble, human, and hopeful."
Jen Smedley of #imomsohard, author/comedian
"In Cross Sections, Matt Schur takes us with him on a journey into his soul. He keeps his eyes fully open to the pressing issues of both his personal past and this troubled world, while remaining equally fully grounded in his faith. Juxtaposing beautiful love from God with the pain of daily life (childhood loss, grief, depression, adult trauma, racism, sexism, idolatry), he offers us a raw, candid, totally authentic look into what it means to walk with God. If you are looking for a book of simple Christian platitudes, this is not it. But if you want a companion on your spiritual journey, who knows that real anger, doubt, and sadness can coexist with celebration, joy, and deep communion with God and others, you will want to read every word this book offers -- slowly, reverently, questioningly, bringing your real self to the Presence of the Holy, just as Cross Sections does. You will be challenged here, and you will be richly rewarded."
Rev. Stephanie Lape, ELCA pastor and author of Hearing God's Call to Deeper Faith
"This collection is like a living museum, each piece a strange new diorama inviting you to step inside and look around and discover. Matt's words will do things to knock down your idols, expose your phony do-gooder conscience, scramble your notions of what is truly holy, problematize your pieties, and interrogate both your grandiosity and your self-loathing. A brilliant and deliciously eclectic collection of prophetic, de-centering, daring, and sometimes profoundly comforting poems."
Mark Stenberg, Ph.D, author of 51% Faith After Certainty
"Matt shares his faith vulnerably in a way that moves past cliched Christian 'insider-speak' and gets into the heart of genuine faith.
94 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 18, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 8, 2021
Cross Sections is a thought-provoking, passionate collection of poetry aimed squarely at American Protestant Christianity in the early 21st century. This century has been a target-rich environment for critics of the American church, but what makes this volume particularly poignant is that the author offers his critique from within the institution itself, with an eye toward redemption and healing rather than destruction.
Writing in the vein of authors like Anne Lamott, Martin Bell, and Annie Dillard, these poems are filled with humor, rage, anguish, regret, hope, dismay, reflection, and a thematic underpinning that whatever this age is, it is not the beacon on the hill that large parts of the American Christian community believe it is, nor has it ever been. These poems ask big questions, take big swings, and sometimes make for incredibly uncomfortable reading - the kind of reading that shows you the cracks in the foundations of your thinking and makes you consider whether you've assumed too many things were true that just don't have to be, and maybe shouldn't.
If you're uncomfortable with the way things are, Cross Sections might be a collection of poetry that shows you you're not alone, and gives you hope that the moral arc of the universe is still bending toward justice. If you're comfortable with the way things are, this collection might move you into that uncomfortable place, and then show you you're not alone and give you hope as well. Highly recommended for Christian and non-Christian readers alike.
DISCLAIMER: Matt Schur and I have been good friends for almost 30 years, and I was an advance reader who offered some editorial suggestions for Cross Sections prior to publication. That having been said, I wouldn't post a review if it wasn't genuine, not even for a friend, and I did not request or receive any compensation for this review.
Writing in the vein of authors like Anne Lamott, Martin Bell, and Annie Dillard, these poems are filled with humor, rage, anguish, regret, hope, dismay, reflection, and a thematic underpinning that whatever this age is, it is not the beacon on the hill that large parts of the American Christian community believe it is, nor has it ever been. These poems ask big questions, take big swings, and sometimes make for incredibly uncomfortable reading - the kind of reading that shows you the cracks in the foundations of your thinking and makes you consider whether you've assumed too many things were true that just don't have to be, and maybe shouldn't.
If you're uncomfortable with the way things are, Cross Sections might be a collection of poetry that shows you you're not alone, and gives you hope that the moral arc of the universe is still bending toward justice. If you're comfortable with the way things are, this collection might move you into that uncomfortable place, and then show you you're not alone and give you hope as well. Highly recommended for Christian and non-Christian readers alike.
DISCLAIMER: Matt Schur and I have been good friends for almost 30 years, and I was an advance reader who offered some editorial suggestions for Cross Sections prior to publication. That having been said, I wouldn't post a review if it wasn't genuine, not even for a friend, and I did not request or receive any compensation for this review.
August 13, 2022
Matt has a way with words the likes of which I haven't encountered in a long time. There are poems in this book that are guaranteed to make me cry every time, and I go back to reread them anyway, because the emotions they evoke are just so powerful. Before this collection was released, I regularly went and searched for "St. Francis" on Matt's social media, and I'm so glad to own a physical copy I can reference any time.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews