The New Oxford Book of Christian Verse (Oxford Paperbacks) [Paperback]

Donald Davie (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 16, 1988 | Series: Oxford Paperbacks

Offering both familiar poems and some fascinating unfamiliar ones, this anthology contains over 250 poems that deal with Christianity. Ranging from the Anglo-Saxon masterpiece "The Dream of the Rood" to the works of modern poets such as T.S. Eliot, W.H. Auden, Sir John Betjeman, and John Berryman, Davie has chosen works from around the world, including several women poets--such as Elizabethan Countess of Pembroke and Emily Dickinson--as well as the four men whom he describes as "the masters of the sacred poem in English": George Herbert, Henry Vaughan, Christopher Smart, and William Cowper. Stressing the importance of "the plain style" in Christian poetry throughout the ages, Davie also includes a large selection of congregational hymns.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Donald Davie has put together a fascianting anthology. There is much in this anthology to charm, to teach - and above all, to enjoy for all who read poetry - but especially the Christian reader.' Diana Good, The Door

About the Author

About the Editor:
Donald Davie is Andrew W. Mellon Professor in Humanities and English at Vanderbilt University. A distinguished scholar, poet, and literary critic, he is the author of several books, including his Collected Poems.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (June 16, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192821571
• ISBN-13: 978-0192821577
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,456,283 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A moving collection of faith that transcendes era, April 4, 2004

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New Oxford Book of Christian Verse (Paperback)

Knowledgeably compiled by academician, poet, and literary critic Donald Davie, The New Oxford Book Of Christian Verse is compact, 352-page anthology of verse, congregational hymns, and anonymous pieces that offer testament to Christian faith from writers across the whole of the English speaking world, with especial emphasis on the timeless works of George Herbert, Henry Vaughn, Christopher Smart, and William Cowper. A moving collection of faith that transcendes era, superb for quiet contemplation, group study, or family sharing. The Holy Ghost: O Holy ghost, whose temple I / Am, but of mud walls, and condensed dust, / And being sacrilegiously / Half wasted with youth's fires, of pride and lust, / Must with new storms be weather-beat; / Double in my heart Thy flame, / Which let devout sad tears intend; and let / (Though this glass lanthorn, flesh, do suffer maim) / Fire, Sacrifice, Priest, Altar be the same.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not my favorite collection, but still good, September 24, 2008

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Jeri Nevermind "loves to read" (Idaho) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The New Oxford Book of Christian Verse (Paperback)

Even though this may not be the best collection of Christian poetry ever, this is still a good, solid collection.

Davie apparently went for quantity, adding Christian poets you may never have read before, which does add interest. On the other hand, I thought the scanty collections of John Donne, T S Eliot and Gerard Manley Hopkins were really a shame. It does contain a slew of Emily Dickinson poems, however.

George Herbert is very well represented, including "The Pulley". Yet the poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins' "Carrion Comfort" that takes the same theme is missing, with the lyrical tug and release of man and God, just as Herbert's "Peace" is in the book but Hopkins' "When will you ever, Peace, wild wooddove, shy wings shut/ Your round me roaming end, and under be my boughs?" is not to be found. These two poems, so similar and so utterly different, beg to be placed within one volume.

There are no biographies or discussions of the poetry, just the poems themselves.

Still and all, a book worth the money.

5.0 out of 5 stars Devotional Aid, July 13, 2011

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Meadowhaven (United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The New Oxford Book of Christian Verse (Paperback)

I'm reading this as a devotional aid, and finding it to be a heart-stirring, facinating way to start the day. To consider the thoughts and feelings of Christians who lived centuries ago is very refreshing. Highly recommended.