A major anthology which looks at whether religious poetry is dead is at the heart of a free event at a city centre bookshop next Saturday, December 3.
The Poet’s Quest for God – 21st Century Poems of Faith, Doubt and Wonder is being launched at Waterstones in St Peter’s Street at 7.30pm, hosted by Canadian poet, editor and publisher Todd Swift.
The anthology contains 300 poems from all over the English-speaking world and as the title implies, many are written by non-believers. Some are about the absence of God – or definitions of human value which could apply to any faith.
Todd, who once wrote a poem for Leonard Cohen and will pay a tribute to him, will be joined by Barbara Marsh who won last year’s £5,000 Troubadour International poetry prize.
Also reading will be Hilary Davies, who has won an Eric Gregory award and was chair of the Poetry Society, and Tim Dooley, whose first collection, The Interrupted Dream, was published by Anvil.
Other readers will include the British-Peruvian Oliver Jones, author of Donald Trump: The Rhetoric, and Helen Lovelock-Burke, who has had 15 poems displayed on London buses.
Todd Swift said: “This major anthology is the first of its kind. It gathers work from renowned poets from around the world, from a wide variety of faiths – as well as agnostics and atheists.”
Simon Bowden of Ver Poets added: “We would love people of any or no faith to come and read a short poem on the theme of religion – and listen to the authors. It is a great occasion when we get so many award-winning writers in St Albans on a single night.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here