Playing with Fire: Christian Poets Reflect on Faith and Practice

What do Christian poets from different theological traditions have to say about the nature and aims of poetry? What might faithfulness to Jesus Christ look like in the daily practice of writing poems? How do experiences in faith communities inform poetic values?

The writers of the essays in Playing with Fire explore the calling of the poet, personally and theoretically. Part testimony, part manifesto, each piece seeks to work out the implications and complications of vocational discipleship while offering provocative reflections on the state of the art. These are testimonies on pilgrimage, feeling their way toward a visionary poetics even as they confront misperceptions about the genre and false allegiances that undermine the practice.

Situated in the contemporary scene, the book’s roster purposely features mid-career poets, many of whom are active in teaching and editing. They are risk-takers versed in formal innovation and attracted to the newer possibilities electrifying the field. At the same time, Playing with Fire engages the literary wisdom of the ages and extrapolates from it. This is a book for anyone interested in the intersections between faith and culture-making, guided by the belief that Christians, with the help of the Scriptures and the church, can contribute something meaningful to the conversation about the motive and modus of poetry.

George David Clark is the author of  Reveille and  Newly Not Eternal, winner of the Miller Williams Prize, editor of the journal  32 Poems, and teacher of creative writing at Washington & Jefferson College.

L. S. Klatt is the author of five collections of poetry, including  Cloud of Ink, Interloper, and the recent  Saint with a Peacock Voice, and the winner of the Iowa Poetry Prize and the Juniper Prize.