Philokalia and the early church fathers
If I were the type of person who studied poetry and was reasonably positioned to talk about the best poets writing in English today, then that's how I'd talk about Scott Cairns, one of our greatest living poets.
Often it helps me to have met a poet and then I have a greater understanding of where he or she is coming from. And, after all, there's so much poetry being written out there. If I find myself talking to a poet, I can gauge from other conversation whether or not he's good.
I met Cairns, a poet and a professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia, a few years back at a literary festival in Wichita. And a couple of days ago, I bought his book, Philokalia: New and Selected Poems . The title references another much older book of spiritual writings, The Philokalia . And the word means "love of the beautiful, holy, exalted." Cairns' book is actually the only thing I bought on my recent trip, shall I call it a pilgrimage, to Eighth Day Books in Wichita.
Cairn's books are some of those rare poetry books that I can read from cover to cover and find lots of poems that I love.
He also quotes extensively from the early church fathers. (He also quotes from James Brown, but that's another story.) Two in the book, both from St. Isaac the Syrian, speak clearly to my marathon training and my discontent at the office:
"Dive down into your self, and there you will find the steps by which you might ascend."
"I am of the opinion that He is going to manifest some wonderful outcome, a matter of immense and ineffable compassion."
As my training for the Sunburst Marathon shifts into the taper, I feel that Philokalia was exactly the book I was looking for to help me continue to get mentally and spiritually ready.
Often it helps me to have met a poet and then I have a greater understanding of where he or she is coming from. And, after all, there's so much poetry being written out there. If I find myself talking to a poet, I can gauge from other conversation whether or not he's good.
I met Cairns, a poet and a professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia, a few years back at a literary festival in Wichita. And a couple of days ago, I bought his book, Philokalia: New and Selected Poems . The title references another much older book of spiritual writings, The Philokalia . And the word means "love of the beautiful, holy, exalted." Cairns' book is actually the only thing I bought on my recent trip, shall I call it a pilgrimage, to Eighth Day Books in Wichita.
Cairn's books are some of those rare poetry books that I can read from cover to cover and find lots of poems that I love.
He also quotes extensively from the early church fathers. (He also quotes from James Brown, but that's another story.) Two in the book, both from St. Isaac the Syrian, speak clearly to my marathon training and my discontent at the office:
"Dive down into your self, and there you will find the steps by which you might ascend."
"I am of the opinion that He is going to manifest some wonderful outcome, a matter of immense and ineffable compassion."
As my training for the Sunburst Marathon shifts into the taper, I feel that Philokalia was exactly the book I was looking for to help me continue to get mentally and spiritually ready.
posted by bl at 7:07 am
2 Comments:
Yep, if I taught poetry at a big school in California, I think I'd have my students read some Scott Cairns.
Yep, if I taught poetry at a big school in California, I'd teach him, too... too bad I just teach composition at a big school in California.... :)
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