Word Made Fresh: An Invitation to Poetry for the Church

Christianity Today Book Award in Culture, Poetry, and the Arts (2025)

Have you ever read a book that turned your world upside down? What about a poem?  
 
Poetry has the power to enliven, challenge, change, and enrich our lives. But it can also feel intimidating, confusing, or simply “not for us.” In these joyful and wise reflections, Abram Van Engen shows readers how poetry is for everyone—and how it can reinvigorate our Christian faith. 
 
Intertwining close readings with personal storytelling, Van Engen explains how and why to read poems as a spiritual practice. Far from dry, academic instruction, his approach encourages readers to delight in poetry, even as they come to understand its form. He also opens up the meaning of poetry and parables in Scripture, revealing the deep connection between literature and theology. 
 
Word Made Fresh is more than a guide to poetry—it’s an invitation to wonder, to speak up, to lament, to praise. Including dozens of poems from diverse authors, this book will inspire curious and thoughtful readers to see God and God’s creation in surprising new ways.

Abram Van Engen is Stanley Elkin Professor in the Humanities and chair of the English Department at Washington University in St. Louis. His other books include Sympathetic Puritans and City on a Hill: A History of American Exceptionalism. Passionate about teaching poetry to a wider audience, he also cohosts the podcast Poetry for All with Joanne Diaz and directs the Carver Project, a Christian nonprofit that aims to connect university, church, and society.