Scripture and the English Poetic Imagination Paperback -

From the rear cover

"God, David Lyle Jeffrey reminds us (with a little help from John Donne), is a poet: 'a very figurative and metaphorical God.' In this learned, insightful, and beautifully written book, Jeffrey leads us from Caedmon through Dante, Chaucer, Donne, and many others, all the way to the contemporary poetry of Margaret Avison, Richard Wilbur, Anthony Hecht, and Gjertrud Schnackenberg. The result is a book that, like poetry itself, deserves to be read slowly and savored. Throughout, Jeffrey makes a compelling case that the Bible has been the 'perennial touchstone' that has animated English poetry for more than a millennium, even in the case of poets who haven't been particularly religious. The loss of scriptural literacy in more recent days, therefore, constitutes a singular crisis for the production and interpretation of literature. But it is also a crisis for the soul since, as Jeffrey eloquently shows, Scripture provides a structure for poetry that can 'lift broken hearts to a hope beyond themselves.'"
--Brent A. Strawn, W. R. Cannon Distinguished Professor of Old Testament, Emory University "Jeffrey inspires the imagination. I turned each page with excitement and anticipation. Through his contemplation of English poets, Jeffrey unveils our clouded eyes and unclogs our stuffed ears, preparing us for the beatific vision and the voice of the true God."
--Jessica Hooten Wilson, associate professor of literature and creative writing and director of the Giving Voice Festival of Writing & the Arts, John Brown University "To a remarkable degree, the English poetic tradition constitutes a response to the call of Scripture. Many readers today, however, have little familiarity with the cadences and images of the biblical revelation; hence, their ears hear only half the song. Jeffrey's book, the fruit of a lifetime of scholarship, gives readers ears to hear the rich, antiphonal music resounding through centuries of poetry. Jeffrey is the ideal guide to this tradition, as what he writes of George Herbert is equally true of himself: not only his mind but also his heart is unusually saturated with the language of Scripture."
--Jeffrey Bilbro, associate professor of English, Spring Arbor University; editor in chief at Front Porch Republic; and author of Virtues of Renewal: Wendell Berry's Sustainable Forms

From the jacket flap

"God, David Lyle Jeffrey reminds us (with a little help from John Donne), is a poet: 'a very figurative and metaphorical God.' In this learned, insightful, and beautifully written book, Jeffrey leads us from Caedmon through Dante, Chaucer, Donne, and many others, all the way to the contemporary poetry of Margaret Avison, Richard Wilbur, Anthony Hecht, and Gjertrud Schnackenberg. The result is a book that, like poetry itself, deserves to be read slowly and savored. Throughout, Jeffrey makes a compelling case that the Bible has been the 'perennial touchstone' that has animated English poetry for more than a millennium, even in the case of poets who haven't been particularly religious. The loss of scriptural literacy in more recent days, therefore, constitutes a singular crisis for the production and interpretation of literature. But it is also a crisis for the soul since, as Jeffrey eloquently shows, Scripture provides a structure for poetry that can 'lift broken hearts to a hope beyond themselves.'"
--Brent A. Strawn, W. R. Cannon Distinguished Professor of Old Testament, Emory University "Jeffrey inspires the imagination. I turned each page with excitement and anticipation. Through his contemplation of English poets, Jeffrey unveils our clouded eyes and unclogs our stuffed ears, preparing us for the beatific vision and the voice of the true God."
--Jessica Hooten Wilson, associate professor of literature and creative writing and director of the Giving Voice Festival of Writing & the Arts, John Brown University "To a remarkable degree, the English poetic tradition constitutes a response to the call of Scripture. Many readers today, however, have little familiarity with the cadences and images of the biblical revelation; hence, their ears hear only half the song. Jeffrey's book, the fruit of a lifetime of scholarship, gives readers ears to hear the rich, antiphonal music resounding through centuries of poetry. Jeffrey is the ideal guide to this tradition, as what he writes of George Herbert is equally true of himself: not only his mind but also his heart is unusually saturated with the language of Scripture."
--Jeffrey Bilbro, associate professor of English, Spring Arbor University; editor in chief at Front Porch Republic; and author of Virtues of Renewal: Wendell Berry's Sustainable Forms