Living Vapour Drag your heels – the ground sinks beneath your thudding feet and dunes defy your constancy. Watch the sun – it rises and sets, then runs to the place from whence it has set while your heavy feet echo. And is there a thing of which it is said, HereContinue reading “From Ashes Part 7: Weariness”
Category Archives: Essays
From Ashes Part 5: “…all things are wearisome…”
Vanity of vanities, the Preacher saith, All things are vanity. The eye and ear Cannot be filled with what they see and hear. Like early dew, or like the sudden breath Of wind, or like the grass that withereth, Is man… (Christina Rossetti, “The One Certainty”) Some years ago, the greatest comfortContinue reading “From Ashes Part 5: “…all things are wearisome…””
From Ashes Part 5: “…all that I have written is but straw”
…if the evil which is the cause of sorrow be not so strong as to deprive one of the hope of avoiding it, although the soul be depressed in so far as, for the present, it fails to grasp that which it craves for; yet it retains the movement whereby to repulse that evil. If,Continue reading “From Ashes Part 5: “…all that I have written is but straw””
From Ashes Part 3: Mental “Health” in the Valley of Weeping
I shame at mine unworthyness, yet fain would be at one with thee. Thou art a joy in heaviness, a succour in necessity. (John Dowland, Tears of Lamentacions of a Sorrowfull Soul) So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because ofContinue reading “From Ashes Part 3: Mental “Health” in the Valley of Weeping”
From Ashes Part 2: Black Bile and Tears
Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased, Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow, Raze out the written troubles of the brain And with some sweet oblivious antidote Cleanse the stuffed bosom of that perilous stuff Which weighs upon the heart? (William Shakespeare, Macbeth) Melancholy, though it so weakens and disorders the mind, asContinue reading “From Ashes Part 2: Black Bile and Tears”
From Ashes Part 1: Melancholy and Silence
When I announced, both on my blog and on Twitter, that I would be writing a series of pieces on significant Christians’ struggles with mental illness and asked for suggestions, I had thought I was onto a good thing. I had in mind as a starting point the stories which had brought me greatContinue reading “From Ashes Part 1: Melancholy and Silence”
An Absolutely Ordinary Poet
February now over, it is time to offer one final celebration of Les Murray’s poetry, before moving onto our next – and final – poet in the 12 Poets Project. Here is a short reflection on some of the qualities I value most in Murray’s work. I hope it is a fitting conclusion to ourContinue reading “An Absolutely Ordinary Poet”
Remembering and Introducing…
With January now gone and February just begun, it’s time to farewell Peter Steele and introduce our new poet for the month. Shortly after Father Steele’s death in 2012 I wrote an essay in memory of him, and, although I have read much more of his poetry since then and have come to appreciate itContinue reading “Remembering and Introducing…”
The Case Against the Gods: C.S. Lewis’ Grief and Complaint
Well, today is the 50th anniversary of the death of C.S. Lewis, one of my favourite authors. To commemorate the man and his body of work, here is an essay I have written about him – part of a larger book I am writing on the role of emotional suffering in the lives of significantContinue reading “The Case Against the Gods: C.S. Lewis’ Grief and Complaint”
W.H. Auden: Undoing the Folded Lie
As October draws to a close, it’s time for an essay to draw together our month spent with W.H. Auden. He is a controversial figure in Christian poetry, and so this essay comes with a minor warning that it may not be to everyone’s reading taste. But he is, I think, still a rewarding poetContinue reading “W.H. Auden: Undoing the Folded Lie”
The Consolations of Writing 