Tag Archives: depression

Even So, Even So (After Denise Levertov’s “Suspended”)

When I first read Denise Levertov’s “Suspended”, it amazed me with the perfect way it blended the starkness of life with the delicate beauty of grace. You can read her poem here, in a wonderful post from CPX of their favourite religious poems, and here is my own response to Levertov. Even So, Even SoContinue reading “Even So, Even So (After Denise Levertov’s “Suspended”)”

Broken Discipline

I am beginning a series of studies in my church home group about spiritual discipline, working with Richard Foster’s classic book, Celebration of Discipline. To begin the series, I have written a short reflection on what spiritual discipline has meant to me over the past couple of years since a challenging short-term mission stint inContinue reading “Broken Discipline”

William Cowper – The Waiting Soul

To finish off my month of looking at William Cowper, here is an essay that I have written on his life and work – an attempt to draw together the threads of life that was simultaneously dark and beautiful. I hope you find it a helpful read. William Cowper – The Waiting Soul

Buried Above Ground (After William Cowper’s “Sapphics”)

I suspect that one of the darkest poems in the English language is William Cowper’s “Lines Written During a Period of Insanity”, or, as it is sometimes more tactfully called, “Sapphics”. Written after his first suicide attempt, the poem deals with the idea of eternal condemnation which was one of his greatest fears. In theContinue reading “Buried Above Ground (After William Cowper’s “Sapphics”)”

Walking With God – William Cowper

For the past eighteen or so months I’ve been working my way through William Cowper and John Newton’s Olney Hymnbook, setting the less well-known hymns to new tunes. The recordings I have made are not particularly high quality – I don’t have any fancy equipment to record them with. But here is my recording ofContinue reading “Walking With God – William Cowper”

12 Poets #2: William Cowper

Christian literature has few stories as troubling as that of William Cowper, the eighteenth-century poet and close friend of John Newton of “Amazing Grace” fame. A long-term depression sufferer who attempted suicide multiple times and died in despair, his is hardly an uplifting story. Yet it produced some of the most beautiful – and, often, comforting –Continue reading “12 Poets #2: William Cowper”

12 Poets #1: Despair (After George Herbert’s “Deniall”)

The next George Herbert poem I am going to respond to is one called “Deniall” (his curious spelling, not mine). It’s one of his darker poems, but also one of the best examples of his mastery of poetic form. 20th-century poet W.H. Auden wrote that Herbert possessed a “gift for securing musical effects by varyingContinue reading “12 Poets #1: Despair (After George Herbert’s “Deniall”)”