Sign-In
Cart
Playing with Fire: Christian Poets Reflect on Faith and Practice
Paperback
Christian LivingGeneral ChristianityGeneral Poetry
ISBN13: 9781481320757
Publisher: Baylor University Press
Published: Mar 15 2026
Pages: 353
Weight: 1.04
Height: 0.79 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
What do Christian poets from different theological traditions have to say about the nature and aims of poetry? What might faithfulness to Jesus Christ look like in the daily practice of writing poems? How do experiences in faith communities inform poetic values?
The writers of the essays in Playing with Fire explore the calling of the poet, personally and theoretically. Part testimony, part manifesto, each piece seeks to work out the implications and complications of vocational discipleship while offering provocative reflections on the state of the art. These are testimonies on pilgrimage, feeling their way toward a visionary poetics even as they confront misperceptions about the genre and false allegiances that undermine the practice.
Situated in the contemporary scene, the book's roster purposely features mid-career poets, many of whom are active in teaching and editing. They are risk-takers versed in formal innovation and attracted to the newer possibilities electrifying the field. At the same time, Playing with Fire engages the literary wisdom of the ages and extrapolates from it. This is a book for anyone interested in the intersections between faith and culture-making, guided by the belief that Christians, with the help of the Scriptures and the church, can contribute something meaningful to the conversation about the motive and modus of poetry.
Also in
General Poetry
Dante's Vita Nuova, New Edition: A Translation and an Essay
Pitavy, Francois
Alighieri, Dante
Paperback
The Beauty of the Husband: A Fictional Essay in 29 Tangos (by the Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature)
Carson, Anne
Paperback
Sounding the Seasons Enlarged Edition: One Hundred and Ten Sonnets for the Christian Year
Guite, Malcolm
Paperback
Decreation: Poetry, Essays, Opera (by the Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature)
Carson, Anne
Paperback
Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching: A Book about the Way and the Power of the Way
Lao Tzu
Le Guin, Ursula K.
Paperback
Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse (by the Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature)
Carson, Anne
Paperback