Poems that Should Never be Read in Church

“Poems That Should Never Be Read In Church” is a short collection of poems specially formatted to indent any overflow of text when the font size is increased. This will give a feel similar to reading poetry in a paper book. Rather than sending the extra words to the far left margin, they will be indented to the right in order to make clear where each line begins and ends.

These poems explore the depths of joy and fear, life and death, seeing and naming, regardless of what our religious and other social institutions reward or repress. They are poems that should never—and therefore always—be read in church. Likewise, they should be read in bars, coffee shops, offices, court rooms, bed rooms, kitchens, museums, parks, and anywhere else the full breadth and depth of living is to be experienced.

Part One, “The Book of Angels,” tells stories of encounters with others who break apart our barriers and reveal to us just how fragile—and sacred—we really are.

Part Two, “The Book of Prayer,” forms a narrative cycle of spiritual life, death and rebirth in which the entire cosmos participates.