'I dislike the idea of being a religious poet. I would prefer to be a poet for whom religious things mattered intensely.' In the poems collected in this book, Rowan Williams writes of many things. He visits the Holy Land, commemorates the deaths of parents and close friends, explores elements of ancient Celtic culture; poems are inspired by works of art, landscapes rural and urban, and historical figures from Tolstoy to Simone Weil. What connects poem to poem is the poet's vividly sensual language, his formal mastery, and how he can address, specifically and particularly, what matters most intensely. 'Earth is a hard text to read', writes Welsh poet Waldo Williams in a poem translated here. For Rowan Williams, this very reading is the task of the poet.
- ISBN10 1847774520
- ISBN13 9781847774521
- Publish Date 24 April 2014 (first published 12 December 2002)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Carcanet Press Ltd
- Format Paperback
- Pages 96
- Language English