Yahweh's Other Shoe [Paperback]

Kilian McDonnell (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

In this book, its language, its questioning, its passion, its sass, its wit, its irony, the poet can't disguise his love for his `absent' God. And if God is half the mensch the poet makes Him out to be, He's going to laugh with joy at the soul in this work. -- Sharon Chmielarz, Author of The Other Mozart

These meditations on the monastic life offer the reader a first-hand guided tour of the contemplative journey. Like Job, McDonnell is not afraid to ask the difficult questions, nor is he unwilling to face the silent mystery and stand in awe of its presence. -- Thom Tammaro, Professor of English, Minnesota State University Moorhead, Moorhead, Minnesota

With the publication of this second collection of poems, lovers of poetry may be grateful that Father Kilian McDonnell has found gainful employment as a poet. -- Brother Benet Tvedten, O.S.B., Blue Cloud Abbey, South Dakota

About the Author

Kilian McDonnell, O.S.B., S.T.D., is a priest, theologian, and monk of Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota. His first book of poems, Swift, Lord, You Are Not, was published by Liturgical Press in 2003.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Liturgical Pr (October 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974099228
• ISBN-13: 978-0974099224
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #959,006 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quality Offerings on the Altar of Praise, November 28, 2006

By 

Carol Blank (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Yahweh's Other Shoe (Paperback)

Kilian McDonnell, O.S.B., has been a monk/priest of St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minn., for more than 60 years. The 46 poems in this, his second book of poetry, cover topics including scripture, violence and injustice in the world, aging, and life in the monastery.

Of Eve, he writes, "Quickly done. She bites, / hands the apple to her spouse, / standing quietly beside her. / Passive, he chews death upon his house." A memorial poem to an oblate who died in 2004 contains this stanza: "Enemy of the busy, / friend of visual silence, / he soared with the threat / of a condor looking for spleens" and a series of poems on the prodigal son ends with these two lines: "You're my only son. / He's my only son."

The final section is an essay that opens with a discussion of religious experience in the work of more than a dozen poets from Plato to Robert Frost. It is in the essay that we learn more about McDonnell as poet. He finds inspiration in the silence within the biblical/liturgical culture of the monastery, which can evoke "a host of new images and possibly a new language" related to seeking God and God's glory. As to why he began writing poetry 10 years ago and continues at age 85, he hopes simply to offer his best on the "altar of praise," and invites readers to experience the mystery of God with him.