Letters of Fire

The poet T.S. Eliot wrote in Four Quarters, "The communication of the dead is tongued with fire beyond the language of the living." With this collection of letters addressed to literary characters, saints, and historical figures who have long since exited the stage of time and space, Father Esposito initiates a series of conversations spanning the chasms of death and oblivion. These letters are written to a cast of personalities including Pope John Paul I, Hermione Graner, Albert Einstein, Noah, Rembrandt, Abraham Lincoln, Confucius, Joan of Arc, Audrey Hepburn, T.S. Eliot and Babe Ruth.

In each letter, the author enkindles a unique discussion of a particular virtue or aspect of our humanity related to that particular person. At the heart of this unusual communication is the conviction that the sacramental understanding of the world cherished by the author invites the reader to discern the hints of God's handiwork within us and around us in a novel and yet very personal way.

... beautifully resurrects an old and excellent idea - that of letters to significant people, dead, living, and fictional, as a means of sharpening Christian perceptions of the world and its inhabitants as the theater of God's glory. Esposito writes to Mother Earth, Saint Paul, Narcissus, Joan of Arc, and many others ... The book is wise, witty, inspiring, sometimes profound, and beautifully written throughout. I'm grateful to have read it, and to Esposito for having written it.

Paul J. Griffiths

Warren Chair of Catholic Theology at Duke Divinity School