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Before the Door of God: An Anthology of Devotional Poetry
Before the Door of God An Anthology of Devotional Poetry Author:Jay Hopler (Editor), Kimberly Johnson (Editor) Before the Door of God traces the development of devotional English-language poetry from its origins in ancient hymnody to its current twenty-first-century incarnations. The poems in this volume demonstrate not only that devotional poetry -- poetry that speaks to the divine -- remains in vigorous practice, but also that the tradition re... more »aches back to the very origins of poetry in English. There is a sense in these pages that the tradition of lyric poetry that developed was nearly inevitable, given the inherent concerns of the genre.
Before the Door of God features the work of poets over a three-thousand-year period (from the Book of Psalms to Alcuin, Sir Philip Sidney, Queen Elizabeth I, William Cowper, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost and more). It places the devotional lyric in its cultural, historical, and aesthetic contexts. The volume traces the various influences on this tradition and identifies features that persist in devotional lyric poetry across centuries, cultures, and stylistic differences. To scholars, literary professionals, and general readers who find delight in fine poetry, this anthology offers much to contemplate and discuss.« less