How can one do justice to the heights and depths of the human condition, its mind-boggling accomplishments, its horrid corruptions? Christian tradition, in its wisdom, has acknowledged both extremes. We are fallible amphibians, composed of matter and spirit, yet capable of intense communication with God. Bazyn poetically expands on, and dissects, the conundrums. Frustrations dog our every step, and cravings overthrow us repeatedly. Why are we so prone to duplicity, to prejudice? What causes us to explode in anger, retreat into superficiality, see only the short-term? Why do we mistreat and ridicule others (e.g., the poor, minorities, women)? Free will itself can create saints or antiheroes. Rich in vocabulary, dense in allusions, far-ranging in insight, at times aphoristic in style, these poems are the outpourings of anguished authenticity. What message is our town bell pealing today? Why are there flaws beneath the smoothest of surfaces? How is it that we so often follow a zigzag course? If revelation comes, it may blind us or shine but a dim, shadowy half-light. Bazyn's spontaneous, undoctored black-and-white images clarify, and add nuance, to each vital topic. As Augustine forthrightly acknowledged in Confessions: ""I have become a puzzle to myself."" ""In these intriguing, engaging poems, Bazyn has found just the right images and forms to give voice to his vision of the contradictions inherent in human nature--and, indeed, in the whole universe, and in the Christian narrative of salvation. His accompanying photographs enrich the poems with striking and often surprising visual images."" --Peggy Rosenthal, author of The Poets' Jesus ""At once insightful, stimulating, amusing, and penetrating, Bazyn's poems are profound aesthetic explorations of the enigma termed the human condition."" --Rolland Hein, author of Doors In: The Fairy Tale World of George MacDonald ""Bazyn has put together another beautiful book that brings us to our senses, and beyond to spiritual understanding of the material world and the universe itself, including the one within. A big thanks from this reader."" - MICHAEL LEACH, author of Soul Seeing: Light, Love, Forgiveness Ken Bazyn is long-time editorial director of the Religious Book Club. He has written The Seven Perennial Sins and Their Offspring and Soul-Wrestling: Meditations in Monochrome. His articles have been published in forty periodicals, from Commonweal to Dialog, and his photographs have appeared in forty-five magazines. Bazyn's three previous books of poetry are Gospel Midrashim: Poems on the Life of Jesus, Jesting Angels: God's Lighter Side, and Artistic Alchemy: Transmuting Cinnabar into Gold.
Industry Reviews
“In these intriguing, engaging poems, Bazyn has found just the right images and forms to give voice to his vision of the contradictions inherent in human nature—and, indeed, in the whole universe, and in the Christian narrative of salvation. His accompanying photographs enrich the poems with striking and often surprising visual images.”
—Peggy Rosenthal, author of The Poets' Jesus
“At once insightful, stimulating, amusing, and penetrating, Bazyn’s poems are profound aesthetic explorations of the enigma termed the human condition.”
—Rolland Hein, author of Doors In: The Fairy Tale World of George MacDonald
“Bazyn has put together another beautiful book that brings us to our senses, and beyond to spiritual understanding of the material world and the universe itself, including the one within. A big thanks from this reader.”
– MICHAEL LEACH, author of Soul Seeing: Light, Love, Forgiveness
