Poetry and Prayer: The 2006 Lent Book

Towards the end of his distinguished academic career, Richard Griffiths fulfilled a longstanding aspiration by being ordained into the Anglican Church. Since ordination, Griffiths has been in demand as a preacher and speaker to Christian audiences in the UK. Griffiths has therfore written this book for use in the Lenton season. Each of the sections in the book focuses on a poem or part of a poem. Using his skills as a literary critic, Griffiths turns his attention in deeply meditative fashion to the study of Christian poetry as a means of raising the heart, mind and soul to God. The writers to whom we are introduced come from all periods; from the 16th century to the present, and include not only well-known authors such as Henry Vaughan, R.S. Thomas and T.S. Eliot, but also some who may be less familiar - such as Thomas Traherne, Alice Meynell, Francis Thompson, David Gascoyne.