In the Vedic tradition, the poet was the one who had vision and her poetic expressions opened up new vistas of spiritual meaning. In Divine Inspiration editors Robert Atwan, George Dardess, and Peggy Rosenthal have assembled a luminous and beguiling collection that beautifully represents the global dimensions of today's spirituality. Jesus belongs to the whole of humanity and the international flavor of this volume is especially appealing.
Divine Inspiration is organized into nine sections beginning with "Birth and Infancy" and concluding with "The Resurrection." This anthology of 300 poems "inspired by the language of the Gospels" ranges from ancient (Clement of Alexandria) to modern (Denise Levertov) and from well-known (Rainer Maria Rilke) to obscure (the Korean Ku Sang) poets. Some of the most exciting passages focus on a common theme such as Martha and Mary, Jesus walking on water, and the Lord's Prayer. Here the reader will enjoy a smorgasbord of fresh images about the Lord, finding him on the streets of Montgomery, Alabama, during the Civil Rights era; sensing him as a Maori man; and even conjuring him up as a masseur.
This wonderful work serves as an antidote to the fundamentalist project of literalizing Jesus and locking him into a series of rigid beliefs. Here Jesus runs free as the wind. Poets in a parade of interesting experiments challenge us to re-imagine every moment of his life and work. The playfulness of Divine Inspiration makes it an enthralling delight!