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The Place Within: The Poetry of Pope John Paul II

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The first poem that I read of his was "Shores of silence," a beautiful poem, very profound, and the best that I've ever read. The poetry of Pope John Paul II, should not be missed. You will most certainly gain much more from reading it. So I encourage you all to order it. Really, it is mesmerizing, and you won't be sorry.

John Paul II's vocation was that of priest and preacher. Although he had strong inclinations to the contemplative discipline throughout his his life, he was not first and formost a poet, nor did he subscribe to the poetic conventions of his day.

Great poetry is more often than not written by people consumed with their art. Dalliance or avocation seldom produces great poetry. Translations of poetry, as well, often have more to do with the abilities of the translator than the gifts of the writer.

Approaching this book with this caution, I was impressed, however, with this deeply religious poetry. JPII, writes with great clarity, precision and craft as a wordsmith. His poems, from those of a young man through his election as Pontiff, expose a life of daunting hardships, intense introspection and great faith. Jerzy Peterkiewicz did an excellent job in grasping the nuance and tone of the writing, and giving transparency to the translation.

Organized into well ordered thematic cycles, the poet's juxtapositions and imagery provide a lens into a complex soul, driven by love of God, and passionate patriotism, in the context of Poland's tragic history. John Paul has painstakingly sculpted these words to trace the raw ineffable interior forms of his faith.

Modern secular poetry has purified itself of moralistic elements, and thereby its heroic character, purged by way of its symbolism. It revels in its own aesthetic, and becomes sufficient within it own images. It then becomes fundamentally static, formed of moods and dreams.

Not so religious poetry, the purpose of which is to grasp life to make it surrender its truth. It is actuated by a dynamic realism seeded in that pressing sense of mission. This opus is 'spatial' in it's structure, mapped with a rigorous moral template, rather than scored to a temporal narrative as is most modern poetry.

The foundation, here, is of concrete belief.. illuminated by the objective light of scripture, rather than an abstract mythology, lit with a subjective incandescence. It is imbued with mystery rather than enchantment. It seeks a rational source code, a union of expression and prayer.

The language is eidetic, richly sensual in its landscapes, of Poland, the Holy Land, and Vatican City.. and of the emotional geography of family and country.

The attitude is always one of humility, of the 'clod of earth', that forms John Paul's pen name. It is Catholic in its mystical, sacramental and ethical perspective.

This collection is a counterpoint to the poetic fetishes of the day, as JPII's ministry was to the mores of his time. It provides a lucid and evocative portrait of the author's faith.

"The Place Within" is a collection of the poetry of Pope John Paul The Great, written at various times and under various noms du plume. The themes of this extensive collection are almost exclusively religious or related.

Some of these poems are vary moving. For the most part, although I am a great fan of John Paul The Great, I was generally disappointed in this book. I suspect that the problem flows from the translation. I am not criticizing the translator, but suspect that poetry is, generally, difficult to translate without loosing much. I suspect that much beauty was left in Polish. This work is worth studying, but the reader must be prepared to be satisfied with intermittent satisfaction.