The Best Spiritual Writing 2002 (Best American Spiritual Writing) [Paperback]

Philip Zaleski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 17, 2002 | Series: Best American Spiritual Writing

Hailed as "a significant addition to the spiritual writing of our time", (Publishers Weekly), this inspiring series brings together profound and lyrical writing about art, intimacy, prayer, love, meditation, and faith from some of the world's most distinguished writers. This provocative volume includes: Nobel Prize-winner Toni Morrison's elegy of love for The Dead of September 11; Bill McKibben's "The Muslim Gandhi," the moving story of the Afghan liberator Abdul Ghaffar Khan, one of the greatest nonviolent leaders of the twentieth century; "Prayer," a poem by the Nobel Prize-winner Czeslaw Milosz; Barry Lopez on the role of the modern naturalist as an emissary for nature; from The New Yorker, Philip Levine's poem "Gospel"; and Harvey Cox on a Christian appreciation of the Torah.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

With The Best Spiritual Writing 2002, Parbola magazine editor Philip Zaleski continues to deliver an annual anthology worthy of the utmost praise. In his preface to this edition, Zaleski explains his criteria for inclusion in the series: First, the writing must come from careful cultivation and lived experience. Second, it should "bring forth truth, beauty, and goodness." Zaleski has also assembled numerous writings that accomplish yet another lofty feat. Regardless of the reader's spiritual orientation, this collection expands our vision of the divine. Wallis Wilde-Menozzi reminds us that God's voice can be heard in a cello solo. In his poem "Gospel," Philip Levine convinces us that spiritual comfort can be found in the west wind "soughing" through pines. We discover that God's workers can take the form of a football coach (in Gary Smith's "Higher Education"), or even a fisherman's wife (in Susan Pollack's stunning essay, "The Wives of Gloucester").

Not surprisingly, this year's selections also speak to the events of September 11. In "Leap," Brian Doyle writes of two people joining hands as they jumped from one of the burning towers. "Their hands reaching and joining are the most powerful prayer I can imagine, the most eloquent, the most graceful. It is everything we are capable of against horror and loss and death." And when Toni Morrison speaks directly to "The Dead of September 11" we realize that even the most eloquent among us sometimes feels that words are not enough. (Other contributors include Pattiann Rogers, Bill McKibben, Seamus Heaney, Barry Lopez, and Natalie Goldberg.) --Gail Hudson

From Publishers Weekly

Zaleski's fifth annual collection of the best spiritual writing achieves something memorable and fresh in a year marked by an upsurge in the sheer quantity of spiritual writing. A number of the essays of course deal with last autumn's terrorist attacks; Vincent Druding's "Ground Zero: A Journal" chronicles the 24-year-old author's first day at work in downtown Manhattan. The day was September 11, and he was coming out of the subway when the World Trade Center was hit. Other essays don't address September 11 specifically, but seem particularly timely in its aftermath: Joseph Epstein analyzes the spectrum of fear and courage in "What Are You Afraid Of?", and Amy Schwartz pays tribute to C. S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters in "Screwtape Instructs Scrapetooth," a skillful analysis of the banality of evil. As usual, Zaleski's collection is to be applauded for its diversity; there are contributions from Christian, Muslim, Jewish, secular and pan-Hindu perspectives, and various pieces tackle spirituality as it impacts the environment, relationships, politics, creativity and literature. Contributions have been culled from a panoply of periodicals and newspapers, from the tony (New Yorker and Vanity Fair) to the plebeian (there's even a selection from Sports Illustrated). There are some fascinating biographical essays, such as Bill McKibben's "The Muslim Gandhi" and Sarah Davidson's "The Making of an American Swami." Perhaps the wisest, most understated piece is Walter Wangerin's homage to his deceased father-in-law in "One Man on a Tractor Far Away." Fans of Zaleski's series will not be disappointed with the highly literary quality of this anthology.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne; 1 edition (September 17, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060506032
• ISBN-13: 978-0060506032
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,307,394 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book, not quite as good as Best of 2001, April 4, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Best Spiritual Writing 2002 (Best American Spiritual Writing) (Paperback)

Reading this book was a great experience, and I found a majority of the essays extremely moving. The book came out well before the end of 2002, so I wonder if perhaps they released it a little too early - perhaps the editors could have found some better essays had they waited longer. I'd give "Best Spiritual Writing of 2001" 5 stars -- every essay in that book was extremely moving and powerful. If you're only going to read 1 of the 2 books, I recommend the 2001 anthology.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spellbinding, March 4, 2003

By 

I_Love_To_Read (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best Spiritual Writing 2002 (Best American Spiritual Writing) (Paperback)

I have only read a few of the essays in this book so far, but they have all been wonderful. Brian Doyle's "Leap," about the couple who jumped to their deaths together from one of the World Trade Center towers, is worth the price of the book alone: "A couple leaped from the south tower, hand in hand. They reached for each other and their hands met and they jumped....Their hands reaching and joining are the most powerful prayer I can imagine, the most eloquent, the most graceful. It is everything that we are capable of against horror and loss and death. It is what makes me believe that we are not craven fools and charlatans to believe in God, to believe that human beings have greatness and holiness within them like seeds that open only under great fires, to believe that some unimaginable essence of who we are persists past the dissolution of what we were, to believe against such evil hourly evidence that love is why we are here."
What amazing, amazing writing. It makes me cry.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An engaging spiritual anthology., January 9, 2005

By 

Allan M. Gathercoal "fdoamerica" (Norcross, GA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Best Spiritual Writing 2002 (Best American Spiritual Writing) (Paperback)

An Anthology that almost, without exception, is engaging and profound, but not religious.

This is a book that you will keep and reread. There are no stunning revelations, but rather writings that give insight into the spiritual side of life. The various authors, in sometimes compelling ways, show that spirituality exists in the common, everyday aspects of life. Faith, devotion, virtue and Zen are all capture in a book that is perfect for a devotional readings.

`Parabola' editor Philip Zaleski has done a great job selecting spiritual authors that inform, enlighten, and enchant. All of the writings are fresh and reflect the spirituality that can be found in our world today. If you are looking for good, even great writing, you will not be disappointed with this engaging spiritual anthology. Highly Recommended.