Poems of Rowan Williams
"I dislike the idea of being a religious poet. I would prefer to be a poet for whom religious things mattered intensely".
In the poems collected in this book, Rowan Williams writes of many things. He visits the Holy Land, commemorates the deaths of parents and close friends, explores elements of ancient Celtic culture; poems are inspired by works of art, landscapes rural and urban, and historical figures from Tolstoy to Simone Weil. What connects poem to poem is the poet's vividly sensual language, his formal mastery, and how he can address, specifically and particularly, what matters most intensely. "Earth is a hard text to read", writes Welsh poet Waldo Williams in a poem translated here. For Rowan Williams, this very reading is the task of the poet.
In the poems collected in this book, Rowan Williams writes of many things. He visits the Holy Land, commemorates the deaths of parents and close friends, explores elements of ancient Celtic culture; poems are inspired by works of art, landscapes rural and urban, and historical figures from Tolstoy to Simone Weil. What connects poem to poem is the poet's vividly sensual language, his formal mastery, and how he can address, specifically and particularly, what matters most intensely. "Earth is a hard text to read", writes Welsh poet Waldo Williams in a poem translated here. For Rowan Williams, this very reading is the task of the poet.
About the author
Rowan Williams was born in 1950. He was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury (2002-2012). He spent much of his earlier career as an academic at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford successively. Williams stood down as Archbishop of Canterbury on 31 December 2012 and became Master of Magdalene College at Cambridge University in January 2013. Carcanet reissued "The Poems of Rowan Williams" in April 2014.
Reviews
"It's serious, craftsmanly writing on faith, history and mortality... it's the real thing" – Sean O'Brien, Independent
"Reading this poet, at such a period in our history, is like feeling the first drops of rain after a long season of drought" – A. N. Wilson, Daily Telegraph
"His poetry opens windows on a rich and restless imagination" – Boyd Tonkin, Independent
"Reading this poet, at such a period in our history, is like feeling the first drops of rain after a long season of drought" – A. N. Wilson, Daily Telegraph
"His poetry opens windows on a rich and restless imagination" – Boyd Tonkin, Independent