The Gospel in Gerard Manley Hopkins
Selections from His Poems, Letters, Journals, and Spiritual Writings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
How did a Catholic priest who died a failure become one of the world’s greatest poets? Discover in his own words the struggle for faith that gave birth to some of the best spiritual poetry of all time.
Gerard Manley Hopkins deserves his place among the greatest poets in the English language. He ranks seventh among the most frequently reprinted English-language poets, surpassed only by Shakespeare, Donne, Blake, Dickinson, Yeats, and Wordsworth.
Yet when the English Jesuit priest died of typhoid fever at age forty-four, he considered his life a failure. He never would have suspected that his poems, which would not be published for another twenty-nine years, would eventually change the course of modern poetry and influence such poets as W. H. Auden, Dylan Thomas, Robert Lowell, John Berryman, Geoffrey Hill, and Seamus Heaney. Like his contemporaries Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson, Hopkins revolutionized poetic language.
And yet we love Hopkins not only for his literary genius but for the hard-won faith that finds expression in his verse. Who else has captured the thunderous voice of God and the grandeur of his creation on the written page as Hopkins has? Seamlessly weaving together selections from Hopkins’s poems, letters, journals, and sermons, Peggy Ellsberg lets the poet tell the story of a life-long struggle with faith that gave birth to some of the best poetry of all time. Even readers who spurn religious language will find in Hopkins a refreshing, liberating way to see God’s hand at work in the world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844 1889), who became a Jesuit priest after converting to Roman Catholicism at the age of 22, is one of the most frequently reprinted poets in English, but he left behind an oeuvre that's exceptionally small. In this concise but thorough collection, Ellsberg (Created to Praise) offers accessible yet scholarly introductions to his poems alongside thoughtfully arranged selections from the poet's other writings, including his sermons. The volume is tastefully illustrated with reproductions of pages from his journal and sketchbooks. Both the commentary and the primary material make clear that Hopkins's faith was integral to his vision of nature and therefore of his poetic art. His letters and journals provide a look into the religious longings of this intense man, who denied himself the outlet of poetry during the early years of his conversion. These other writings are replete with descriptions of the natural world that employ the unusual perception and expression of a gifted poet. Ellsberg illuminates idiosyncratic expressions and concepts that appear in the prose and inform the poetry. Journal notes on Hopkins's moods reveals a man who was sometimes deeply unhappy and yet persisted in faith. This is a useful volume for teachers, students, and lovers of poetry, and will also be of interest to writers, those curious about the creative process and imagination, and spiritual pilgrims of many stripes.
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