Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Illuminated by The Message

While nonbelievers might invoke God to fit the times, Elizabeth Barrett Browning was more inclined to stretch the fabric of Victorian literary convention. She broached subjects that most thought unfeminine material, not only referencing God and quoting scripture but also carrying scriptural principles into her writing on what was considered at her time a proper subject matter only for men: politics. In this volume of Literary Portals to Prayer, each verso (left) page contains an excerpt from one of Browning’s works and the opposite recto (right) page illuminates the selection with a Bible verse from The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language by Eugene H. Peterson.

This book is the perfect gift for fans of Browning, as well as those who have yet to discover her poetry, and will serve as a welcome resource for those seeking a way to reignite their prayer life. Think of it as literary lectio divina.

Joyce Brinkman, Indiana Poet Laureate 2002-2008, creates public poetry projects involving her poetry and the poetry of others. Her latest books include the multinational, multilingual book Seasons of Sharing: A Kasen Renku Collaboration and Urban Voices: 51 Poems from 51 American Poets, co-edited with Dr. Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda. She lives in Zionsville, Indiana, with her husband and a cantankerous cat.