For Lovers of God Everywhere

by Roger Housden

Roger Housden, author of the best-selling Ten Poems to Change Your Life, celebrates the growing popularity of mystical poetry with this beautiful compilation from the Christian contemplative tradition. Although the writings of the Sufi mystics (Rumi and Hafez) and the Indian mystics (Mirabai and Kabir) have reached a wide audience in recent years, the poetry of the Christian mystics has yet to be discovered by a general audience. For Lovers of God Everywhere, a collection of nearly 100 poems from both historic and contemporary writers, heralds the reemergence of the great spiritual voices of the Christian tradition--a tradition with its own love songs to God, cries of longing, and bliss of union.

In this collection, Roger introduces us to some of the foremost poets of both the Eastern and Western Christian traditions. He takes us from the wisdom of the Desert Fathers to the passion of St. Augustine, through the medieval ecstasies of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Catherine of Siena, to the subtleties of St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila; and on to contemporary voices such as Rainer Maria Rilke, T.S. Eliot, and Mary Oliver. Roger's insightful commentary on each poem inspires us to take its words more deeply into our souls and shows how the mystical tradition transcends sectarian divides and speaks to the heart of humanity.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Mysticism, Christian, Religion, Theology

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Roger Housden is the author of some twenty books of non fiction, including the best selling Ten Poems series. His new book, SAVED BY BEAUTY: ADVENTURES OF AN AMERICAN ROMANTIC IN IRAN, comes out on May 17 2011 with Broadway Books.

Reviews

[Julie G · Rating 4 out of 5]

You are the vastness
into which you gaze.
Deep calls unto deep in the
roar of your waters (Psalm 42:7)
--Martin Laird

“Deep calls” here, indeed, for I think this may be the deepest book I’ve braved in a bit. I’ve been pretty shallow lately, intentionally reading lighter books, having lighter conversations with people. My attention span has been crap, and I’ve felt like a jumpy cricket, hoping from rock to rock.

I challenged myself, with this read, to slow down a little, to sharpen my focus and clear my mind.

In general, I’m the kind of gal who goes to alternative healing groups and stands in the corner and grumbles, “not exactly,” and on Sundays I go to church and I sit in the corner and I grumble, “not exactly.”

So, I’m not easy to please in my own pursuits and expressions of spirituality; I never have been. But one pursuit has always pleased me: mystical poetry.

Mystical poetry is poetry, of course, but it is poetry written by people who have lived their lives in pursuit of contemplation, prayer and meditation.

The editor, here, of this compilation of mystical poems, Roger Housden, has subtitled this book Poems of the Christian Mystics. I find this unnecessary and inaccurate. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about mystic poets, it’s that they come from all periods of recorded history, all cultures, and all faiths.

You can feel, almost immediately, in mystical poetry that the writing is not contrived; it is inspired. Even if the writer is a scholar and there are scholarly elements to the work, the core of the message is pure.

I think you can only call these particular poets “Christian mystics” based on the roles they played in life. This particular grouping of mystics were “Christian” by their declared roles here on earth, either as priests, those who were later made saints by the Catholic church, or Christian clergy.

And, here, in this collection, the editor, Roger Housden, offers a few exceptions to that rule: William Blake, Denise Levertov, Mary Oliver.

It’s interesting to be so close, in history, to a recently deceased poet, Mary Oliver, and see the beginnings of her being declared as a “mystic poet.” For what it’s worth, I have come to have that opinion myself (and I feel the same way about living poet, Joy Harjo), but whether we all agree or disagree on these titles, shall we take moment to glory in the beauty of one of Ms. Oliver’s offerings?

Praying

It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris; it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch

a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.

I suppose Roger Housden plays multiple roles here, in this collection. He is an editor; he has selected these particular poems for consideration, but he also serves as a spiritual teacher of sorts, and, to an extent, a translator of said poems.

This was the interesting part for me! I found myself, in general, feeling mostly neutral about Mr. Housden’s feedback to each poem, but one poem in particular, Gerard Manley Hopkins’s “God’s Grandeur,” sprang to life, after reading Mr. Housden’s “translation.” I was ever so grateful on his particular insights to that complex poem. In contrast, I disagreed with him on almost all of his interpretations of Meister Eckhart’s poems.

Such is life!

To be honest, I actually enjoyed disagreeing with Roger Housden, at times, in some of his interpretations. That’s what this is about, isn’t it? Finding what works for you, and what doesn’t.

All in all, this was a meaningful and memorable reading experience for me, and I will be making a spot for it on the end table by my bed!

All things
are too small
to hold me,
I am so vast

In the Infinite
I reach
for the Uncreated

I have
touched it,
it undoes me
wider than wide

Everything else
is too narrow

You know this well,
you who are also there
--Hadewijch II

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

mostly good but some of the poems I just didn't like. that's not on roger though

[Callum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great poetry, including from folks I hadn’t heard of previously. At other points, felt edited and as if the author had a bit of an agenda in his commentary. Some poems pretty out there!

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This includes some fantastic poetry from lesser known poets, but also some inexplicably, quite severely edited poems (sometimes as little as a mere couplet) from better known ones, such as Meister Eckhart, St. John of the Cross and Dante. This leads me to suspect that the editor simply wanted to belabour a single point over and over, and, whilst he does this very well, there is, in it all, an air of pretension about it. I have been reading four anthologies of Christian poetry concurrently and this one is conspicuous for precisely this reason.
Whether, or not, he really knows all that he proposes to know by his 'insightful commentaries', many of which are superfluous, is also to my mind, doubtful. If he did, he surely wouldn't be making a living by commentating on other peoples poetry!
Non the less, this remains a very good introduction to the genre including some very good poets and poems.
It has, at least, given me a couple of new leads...

[Justin Wiggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rich spirituality nourishing read.

[Annabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! What a great sampling of poems and an invitation to read more of the mystics. I also appreciated Housden’s reflections that went with each poem. This is the kind of book it’s helpful to keep around and handy.

[Elizabeth Sackett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just an excellent cross-section of mystic poetry focusing on God as beloved in the lover/beloved dichotomy and other great stuff like that, I highly recommend to anyone interested in theology

[Kathryn Wingard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read at the pace of one poem a day

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting bios and poems from a large group of mystics, some I have heard of and many others. There is also a short paragraph from the author of each one.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine collection, but I was not a huge fan of his commentary, which is 50% of the book. By turns pedantic and esoteric.

[Ronald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful Book by the way.

[Ivan Granger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has quickly become one of my favorite collections of sacred poetry within the many Christian traditions. John of the Cross, Thomas Merton, Hildegard von Bingen, Kahlil Gibran, Dante, Angelus Silesius, Mechthild of Magdeburg, Meister Eckhart, William Blake… and Roger Housden’s brief, thoughtful insights. Another excellent book by the editor of Ten Poems to Change Your Life, Ten Poems to Open Your Heart, and Ten Poems to Set You Free.

= And I’m pleased to be able to point to an example of my own work in this book, my translation of “The Sum of Perfection” by John of the Cross. =

[Aimee Sims]

This book is excellent because it not only shares poems from various mystics but walks you through interpretations of their writings within the context of the time period in which they lived and other prevailing philosophies of that time. The poems can also serve as guides during your personal prayer time.

[Nanette Kraus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice compilation of devotional poetry, with editor's comments and poet biographies. My only complaint was the inclusion of excerpts - if I commit to reading a new poem, I prefer to absorb it in its entirety.

[Russ Booton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has become one of my favorite books. I seem to come back to it a lot. It seems to express and bring me to some of the deepest places within myself.