How Long?

by Patrick Oden

Andrea Potos's poems are permeated by an expansive sense of kinship. Blood family are precious, but equally intimate are luminary writers with whom she finds soul connections. Although most of these figures are physically absent, all are a vital presence in Potos's "rooms of thought." She recommends (and practices) not getting snagged in appearances but "look[ing] slant" to find what is enduring. This is what she calls "graz[ing] with your consciousness" to gather joy. This is no simplistic pursuit. Rather, she's in agreement with C.S. Lewis's insight that "joy is the serious business of heaven." Potos understands that it takes committed work to choose and own joy. These poems involve aging parents, cancer, dread, death, grief, funerals-the hard times that generate hard questions. But they also celebrate the sustaining "underpinnings of dailiness"-laundry, coffee, washing dishes, brushing hair, bird song, vegetables, floral dresses. As those who are now absent become valued mental companions, she discovers "a peace whisper[ing] to her...a different happiness unfolding." The gift of these poems is in how Potos thoughtfully weighs what is given and what is taken, how life both fulfills and disappoints, and determines to let joy keep her. "Breathing deeply is simple, and hope is the natural choice."

Genres: Christianity

212 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 25, 2011

Reviews

[Tim Baumgartner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very unusual, but VERY helpful book. My wife read it before I did and questioned what the genre is--even though she definitely liked it. Dr. Oden wrote the book like it's fictional, but based on truth. He did a great job telling a story about a group of people who came from different places in their faith walks. Some might have even given up on God. However, in some surprising events, some of these people end up meeting together and discuss the Bible--particularly the Book of Exodus. I gained some very intriguing insights from their discussions, questions, and studies. I think it is one of those books that are definitely worth reading from time to time.

"How Long?" is for those who are either in some "dry" places in life, know people who are in "dry" places, or will be in "dry" places spiritually. In other words--it's for EVERYBODY!!!

This is one of the few books I've read by someone I know. I used to serve at the same church as Patrick before we moved from California. We also went to the same seminary. I love and miss this guy!!!

[Amanda Stoeckmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite poet is Longfellow, a very different style of poetry than this. However, when I heard Andrea Potos introduce this book of poems at a literary event in December 2023, I liked it enough to buy a copy.

The poems I like most are:
“Modern Conversation”
“-7 on a February Morning”
“Trying to Teach My Mother to Crochet”
“Crocheting in December”
“After the Evening Lecture on Insight Meditation”

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is hard to place genre-wise. Technically, it is fiction. The people and circumstances that frame the story are made up. But the point of the story is not to follow any one person, or to really get to know any of them. The point of the book is definitely theological, but this isn't your typical theology book either. And so the best genre that fits is that it is a modern parable. Like Jesus' parables in the New Testament, the point of the story isn't the characters or plot, but the message cleverly wrapped up in them. Oden wants readers to examine the wilderness experiences of Joseph, Moses, the Israelites, and even Jesus through the lenses of a group of modern people going through tough times in life. The book is told through the experiences of a group of believers in Pasadena, California of varying ages and backgrounds. There's the pastor who is feeling spiritually dry, the artist whose livelihood has been stripped from her in a shooting, a bereaved parent, etc. All of them are searching for answers of where is God during the hard times? So as a group they decide to start reading Genesis and Exodus, examining the wilderness experiences of the patriarchs. Did the patriarchs always know what God was up to? How did they respond to God's silence? And most of all, can they tell us why? Why does God let the tough times, the wilderness experiences happen? Why does He sometimes seem distant?

I read this in little chunks, a chapter at a time. That speed is in no way the fault of the content. Oden's writing flows, though your interactions with all the different characters are brief and sporadic, he does a great job of making them come to life, including even little details so it feels like we just walk in on moments from their normal lives. No, the reason it took me a while is because there's so much to think about from each chapter. I just read a chapter a night to be able to think about the topics brought up. By peeking in on characters reading and talking about Scripture, you really get to look at the events of the Exodus in a different light than normal. And it's a good thing. It's good to stop and realize how long the Israelites suffered for no apparent reason and how long it took for God to speak to Moses. We know the end of the stories, so it's often easy to jump from problem to God's dramatic ending, and skim over/ignore the middle part where the people were confused and God was silent. We jump from the Israelites making bricks to the parting of the sea, and ignore those years where the Israelites were suffering and it seemed like God was nowhere on the scene. It's good to take time and ponder what God was up to in those moments of hardship. It's easy to have faith when you see the ending, it isn't as easy when you can't seem to see anything. My only small qualm with the book is that our interactions with the varied characters are so sporadic, it is sometimes hard to keep people straight. That really isn't a problem overall though. I definitely came away from reading this encouraged and challenged to trust God more.

*Disclaimer: I know the author, and my husband received the copy of the book as a gift from him.

Notes on content: Oden writes real people, so there are about 4 minor swear words. No sexual content. One character vaguely eludes to her spotty past and another to a past affair, but absolutely no details. One character is shot, but it happened off page and the violence/gore isn't described.

[a. · Rating 3 out of 5]

overall an enjoyable collection, though i didnt enjoy some poems. a good quick read -- i usually read poetry that hits me very hard and makes me very emotional, it was nice to read something that was a little bit lighter for me. i will definitely be going back to a few of the poems (sometimes, i notice was one i really enjoyed).