Last week I posted a poem in honour of Christina Rossetti, who I declared one of the Anglican church’s greatest literary exports. Today, in this week’s uncovering, I want to share with you the work of a widely forgotten gem, the Anglican poet Ruth Pitter. I have my friend Nathanael to thank for this discovery,Continue reading “Uncovered Gems #2: Ruth Pitter”
Tag Archives: Christianity
“A catholic taste,” she said
and I nodded, not knowing at all what she meant, for I was not, nor have ever been, Catholic. How then, I wondered, was my reading taste catholic? The word, at the time, meant Mary and popes, not expansive, far-reaching, inclusive. Now I give my old teacher’s words new meaning: yes, catholic in reading, inContinue reading ““A catholic taste,” she said”
Nazarene (II)
Did you meet in Damascus? Did you greet at the stalls and meet in your homes, all safe in their walls? Was there never a time when your people weren’t here? Did you meet in Damascus and sing? Did you meet in Homs where your buildings were tall, where the foundations laid were the surestContinue reading “Nazarene (II)”
From Ashes Part 8: No work for tinkers
It is autumn in my home town of Melbourne as I write these words, and outside the University library the streets are bathed in orange, golden and golden-brown leaves. It is a glorious sight, one of those moments where something seemingly hopeless – the dying of leaves – can be simultaneously so beautiful. I wasContinue reading “From Ashes Part 8: No work for tinkers”
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”
A new project, and a request
One of the original purposes with which The Consolations of Writing was created was to celebrate the ways in which God can use our trials and struggles to grow good fruit in our lives. This purpose emerged out of my own struggles with mental illness – depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder – and the ways in which,Continue reading “A new project, and a request”
The Consolations of Writing 