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Butterfly Nebula
Gold Medal in Poetry for the 2024 Illumination Book Awards
Winner of the Backwaters Prize in Poetry, Butterfly Nebula reaches from the depths of the sea to the edges of space to chart intersections of the physical universe, the divine, the human, and the constantly unfolding experience of being “one thing in the act of becoming another.” This collection of poems teems with creatures and cosmic phenomena that vivify and reveal our common struggle toward faith and identity. The longing and metamorphosis of the human heart and soul are reimagined in an otherworldly landscape of firework jellyfish, sea slug, stingray, praying mantis, butterfly and moth, moon and star, and celestial events ranging from dark matter and Kepler’s Supernova remnant to a dozen classified nebulae. Our desire for purpose and renewal collides with the vast constellation of divine possibility in this collection, which invites the reader to enter a transformative world both deeply interior and embracing of the far-flung cosmos.
Winner of the Backwaters Prize in Poetry, Butterfly Nebula reaches from the depths of the sea to the edges of space to chart intersections of the physical universe, the divine, the human, and the constantly unfolding experience of being “one thing in the act of becoming another.” This collection of poems teems with creatures and cosmic phenomena that vivify and reveal our common struggle toward faith and identity. The longing and metamorphosis of the human heart and soul are reimagined in an otherworldly landscape of firework jellyfish, sea slug, stingray, praying mantis, butterfly and moth, moon and star, and celestial events ranging from dark matter and Kepler’s Supernova remnant to a dozen classified nebulae. Our desire for purpose and renewal collides with the vast constellation of divine possibility in this collection, which invites the reader to enter a transformative world both deeply interior and embracing of the far-flung cosmos.
- GenresPoetry
115 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2023
3 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Laura Reece Hogan
5 books14 followersLaura Reece Hogan is the author of the poetry collection Litany of Flights (Paraclete Press, 2020), winner of the 2020 Paraclete Poetry Prize, the poetry chapbook O Garden-Dweller (Finishing Line Press, 2017), and the spiritual theology book I Live, No Longer I (Wipf & Stock, 2017). She is one of ten poets featured in the anthology In a Strange Land (Cascade Books, 2019).
I Live, No Longer I won four First Place 2018 Catholic Press Association Book Awards in the categories of Spirituality, Hardcover; Spirituality, Softcover; Theology; and Scripture, Popular Studies. I Live, No Longer I also was awarded the gold medal for Spirituality in the 2018 Illumination Book Awards, and won the category of Religion: Christianity in the 2017 American Book Fest Best Book Awards.
Her poems can be found in or are forthcoming in America, The Christian Century, First Things, The Cresset, Dappled Things, Whale Road Review, Lily Poetry Review, EcoTheo Review, Spiritus, U.S. Catholic, Anglican Theological Review, Relief: A Journal of Art and Faith, The Windhover, Poets Reading the News, Santa Fe Literary Review, Saint Katherine Review, Amethyst, Snapdragon: A Journal of Art & Healing, The Penwood Review, the anthology Solo Novo 7/8: Psalms of Cinder & Silt (Solo Press, 2019), and other publications. Her poetry has been nominated for the Best of the Net and a Pushcart Prize. Her essays have been featured in Spirituality and Ekstasis Magazine.
Laura earned a B.A. from Rice University in Houston, Texas, a J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, and a M.A. in theology from St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, California. She is a professed Third Order Carmelite. She lives in Southern California with her family.
She can be found online at www.laurareecehogan.com, and on Twitter @laurarhogan.
I Live, No Longer I won four First Place 2018 Catholic Press Association Book Awards in the categories of Spirituality, Hardcover; Spirituality, Softcover; Theology; and Scripture, Popular Studies. I Live, No Longer I also was awarded the gold medal for Spirituality in the 2018 Illumination Book Awards, and won the category of Religion: Christianity in the 2017 American Book Fest Best Book Awards.
Her poems can be found in or are forthcoming in America, The Christian Century, First Things, The Cresset, Dappled Things, Whale Road Review, Lily Poetry Review, EcoTheo Review, Spiritus, U.S. Catholic, Anglican Theological Review, Relief: A Journal of Art and Faith, The Windhover, Poets Reading the News, Santa Fe Literary Review, Saint Katherine Review, Amethyst, Snapdragon: A Journal of Art & Healing, The Penwood Review, the anthology Solo Novo 7/8: Psalms of Cinder & Silt (Solo Press, 2019), and other publications. Her poetry has been nominated for the Best of the Net and a Pushcart Prize. Her essays have been featured in Spirituality and Ekstasis Magazine.
Laura earned a B.A. from Rice University in Houston, Texas, a J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, and a M.A. in theology from St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, California. She is a professed Third Order Carmelite. She lives in Southern California with her family.
She can be found online at www.laurareecehogan.com, and on Twitter @laurarhogan.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 1, 2023
When I read poetry, it is a deeply intuitive experience, so much that it becomes difficult to describe the effect these words have to my heart and mind. Poetry takes the language of the left brain and splashes it playfully into the right side of the brain, so to speak, and transforms language into an experience rather than a lecture.
How much more difficult it is to plumb something objective, like astronomy or marine biology, until tapping into its emotional experience! And, even further: how difficult it is to describe something concrete as the sciences in terms of the ethereal and subjective language of faith and spiritual yearning! Yet, this is what Laura Reece Hogan has done, seemingly effortlessly, in this magnificent book of poetry. For all the times I have lost myself in silence as I contemplate the parameters of the cosmos, these poems give voice to the emotion, words to the wonder, and open windows to even deeper contemplation at the level where science and spirituality are one. If we collected up all the papers written on finding existential meaning (or pursuing the existence of God) through the scientific pursuits, we would have a body of evidence to persuade the head; this book, then, reveals the sincerity and honesty driving such pursuits, springing from where mind and heart intersects.
For left-brain heavy people like me, who love the natural world but lack the words to express that love: this is that psalter. I both celebrate and heartily recommend these poems.
How much more difficult it is to plumb something objective, like astronomy or marine biology, until tapping into its emotional experience! And, even further: how difficult it is to describe something concrete as the sciences in terms of the ethereal and subjective language of faith and spiritual yearning! Yet, this is what Laura Reece Hogan has done, seemingly effortlessly, in this magnificent book of poetry. For all the times I have lost myself in silence as I contemplate the parameters of the cosmos, these poems give voice to the emotion, words to the wonder, and open windows to even deeper contemplation at the level where science and spirituality are one. If we collected up all the papers written on finding existential meaning (or pursuing the existence of God) through the scientific pursuits, we would have a body of evidence to persuade the head; this book, then, reveals the sincerity and honesty driving such pursuits, springing from where mind and heart intersects.
For left-brain heavy people like me, who love the natural world but lack the words to express that love: this is that psalter. I both celebrate and heartily recommend these poems.
December 9, 2024
Laura Reece Hogan's "Butterfly Nebula" is a transformative collection of poetry that indubitably expands the reader's understanding of the cosmos and the human experience, and it’s one that I thoroughly enjoyed. The poems are meticulously crafted; Hogan intentionally spaces out her lines to create a visual representation of the vastness and isolation often felt in the universe. This technique is particularly evident in "Longing as Dark Matter," where the scattered words seem to evoke the elusive nature of dark matter itself:
"The most rending most revealing most propelling substance, driving us with sugared whip of desire and the astronomers say"
Hogan's use of cosmic titles, such as "Kepler Supernova Remnant" and "Between 50 and 51," further emphasizes the celestial themes that imbue her work. These titles are not just for show; they mean something.
I particularly enjoyed "Kepler Supernova Remnant," which has themes of destruction, creation, and the continuity of matter both on a cosmic scale and in our lives.
This construction-destruction duality is present throughout the collection. Albeit challenging at times, Hogan's poetry invites readers to contemplate their place in the universe.
“Butterfly Nebula” is truly a masterpiece; its intentionality in form and content makes Hogan's work both expansive and intimate, offering a transformative journey through space and self. It is truly deserving of the Backwaters Prize in Poetry. I’m looking forward to reading more of Hogan’s work and following her career as a poet. I highly recommend this collection to anyone looking for introspective, impactful art.
"The most rending most revealing most propelling substance, driving us with sugared whip of desire and the astronomers say"
Hogan's use of cosmic titles, such as "Kepler Supernova Remnant" and "Between 50 and 51," further emphasizes the celestial themes that imbue her work. These titles are not just for show; they mean something.
I particularly enjoyed "Kepler Supernova Remnant," which has themes of destruction, creation, and the continuity of matter both on a cosmic scale and in our lives.
This construction-destruction duality is present throughout the collection. Albeit challenging at times, Hogan's poetry invites readers to contemplate their place in the universe.
“Butterfly Nebula” is truly a masterpiece; its intentionality in form and content makes Hogan's work both expansive and intimate, offering a transformative journey through space and self. It is truly deserving of the Backwaters Prize in Poetry. I’m looking forward to reading more of Hogan’s work and following her career as a poet. I highly recommend this collection to anyone looking for introspective, impactful art.
December 31, 2023
Beautiful, haunting collection of poems based principally on astral figures and deep sea life--great mysteries of creation. Such figures give expression to the vastness and wonder of the universe, contemplating the nature of distance, light, silence, energy, new birth, and more.
One of the things I most love about Hogan's poetry is how it depicts the myriad ways God enters human (and non-human) life; Hogan has a remarkable gift for capturing the force and poignancy of spiritual experiences. Take “The Elysia Sea Slug,” which takes up the theme of renewal: “You pry loose the cargo and craft fresh strands of light. / When I unhook all the parts // and struggle away, won’t you come rebuild? Tear down / the years the locusts have eaten, let the heavy consignment fall, / Regenerate a glistening wholeness from only one piece. // Let that piece be you.”
One other example: “Blue Moon Butterfly”: “When will you come, Lord? / We have asked over the ages, over // the surfaces that trick light, over structures / that overlay all. Iridescent eyespots // blue the moon, shiver the signal – / your touch tender, silver-bloomed, / lapis-ripe – when // you come, Lord, there is no when, / only a different light. / Let me not forget.”
One of the things I most love about Hogan's poetry is how it depicts the myriad ways God enters human (and non-human) life; Hogan has a remarkable gift for capturing the force and poignancy of spiritual experiences. Take “The Elysia Sea Slug,” which takes up the theme of renewal: “You pry loose the cargo and craft fresh strands of light. / When I unhook all the parts // and struggle away, won’t you come rebuild? Tear down / the years the locusts have eaten, let the heavy consignment fall, / Regenerate a glistening wholeness from only one piece. // Let that piece be you.”
One other example: “Blue Moon Butterfly”: “When will you come, Lord? / We have asked over the ages, over // the surfaces that trick light, over structures / that overlay all. Iridescent eyespots // blue the moon, shiver the signal – / your touch tender, silver-bloomed, / lapis-ripe – when // you come, Lord, there is no when, / only a different light. / Let me not forget.”
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November 3, 2025Favorites: "In Which I Pray for Stars," "Trembling Aspen: Needle," "Butterfly Nebula," "Coalsack Nebula," "Ophelia in Los Angeles"
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews