Customer Reviews

Exquisite Desire

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Carey Ellen Walsh's philosophical discussion of desire is a stimulating intellectual exploration of what fuels our lives. Desire, often banned to some corner of our existence, if often unspoken and controlled by social norms. In the Song of Songs, desire reigns in all its beauty and captivating spirituality, leaving us wondering why we didn't recognize the importance of this book before.

"We are confessing our vulnerability to desire, admitting that it threatens our very selfhood. The paradox of human sexual desire is that we simultaneously want to be undone by love and fear it." ~ pg. 71

You may even start to find it humorous that for years people may be carrying a Bible around not knowing that within the pages a book of erotica (desire with emotion not only description of action) has been preserved through the ages. While many believe the poetry is also representative of our longing for a union with the divine, the metaphors indicate a very earthly and erotic masterpiece. The sensually charged language, once explained fully, takes our understanding of love much further than a general understanding of yearning and infatuation. After studying the poetry, the desire seems representative of a much deeper need, a bonding of soul mates.

"The woman's life force is marked through and through by her love for this man. In her case, it is not simply her romantic interest alongside other life interests. Instead, it characterizes the whole of her existence." ~ pg. 78

What many books don't indicate is that this is a book written by King Solomon who was wooing a shepherdess. The author does mention this briefly in "Woman's voice in the Canon." Could this Shulamite virgin have been his soul mate? The poetry makes more sense within the context of a couple meeting, marrying and then making a life together. The word "my spouse" is used in the KJV. Whether you decide this was written by a man or a woman, this ancient love poetry is still fascinating to study. A door is no longer a door, water takes on multiple meanings and nature is used as powerful symbols of the lover's desires.

This book gave me completely new insights into how and why we write poetry. This book takes forever to read because it is an intricate study, but if you enjoy poetry it may open up new worlds. Carey Ellen Walsh also discusses desire throughout history, briefly mentions Romeo and Juliet and delves into examples from the Odyssey. She does seem to have her own agenda throughout, but you can take what you need and take some of her ideas and think about them from her perspective.

A beautiful compliment to this book is the Song of Songs adapted and illustrated by Judith Ernst.

~The Rebecca Review