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Review

“Leland Ryken has performed a great service by gathering these poems into a volume that yields counsel, challenge, and comfort to Christians of all stripes. These poems will be faithful companions to every thoughtful believer.”―Alan Jacobs, Distinguished Professor of Humanities, Honors College, Baylor University“Leland Ryken has gifted us with a much-needed anthology that not only presents the finest devotional poetry in English, but provides incisive commentary that allows the reader to understand each poem’s various layers of meaning and to participate in its wrestling with God, faith, and the human condition.”―Louis Markos, Professor of English and Scholar in Residence, Houston Baptist University; author, From Achilles to Christ and Literature: A Student’s Guide“Leland Ryken’s The Soul in Paraphrase is a stunning collection of timeless devotional poems that―just like the Bible―rewards the patient, careful reader. Every Christian should add this volume to their library, enjoying it slowly and savoring its riches in the daily rhythms of devotional life.”―Brett McCracken, Senior Editor, The Gospel Coalition; author, Uncomfortable: The Awkward and Essential Challenge of Christian Community“This timeless treasury reads like a devotional on devotional poetry. With the fruits of a long career served in the love of God and of literature, Leland Ryken informs and illumines each poem’s contribution to the thoughtful Christian’s pursuit of beauty, grace, and truth. Perfect as a guide or a gift.”―Carolyn Weber, Faculty Member, Brescia University College, Western University, London, Ontario; author, Surprised by Oxford and Holy Is the Day“I have long desired a book just like this fine collection of poems. I am constantly seeking to encourage prospective pastors, teachers, and Christians in the church to read good poetry. Leland Ryken has compiled exactly what I need: a treasury of great devotional poems that I can regularly recommend to others. He includes many of my own favorites by Shakespeare, Donne, Herbert, Hopkins, and Eliot, so I was fascinated to read his valuable commentaries introducing those poems. He has also chosen less familiar works, making this a book I will return to again and again. Thank you for such an excellent work!”―Jerram Barrs, Resident Scholar, The Francis Schaeffer Institute; Professor of Christian Studies and Contemporary Culture, Covenant Theological Seminary“Leland Ryken is a leading literary scholar of our time, and in these pages offers a timeless collection that couldn’t be timelier. The Soul in Paraphrase presents masterful poems that nourish heart, mind, and soul, along with commentary that is learned, lucid, and inviting. This is a volume that will delight poetry enthusiasts and skeptics alike.”―Karen Swallow Prior, author, On Reading Well and Fierce Convictions“Some of the most profound devotional exercises―perhaps second only to the reading of Scripture―come from reading and contemplating Christian poetry. But readers today are ill-equipped to do so, knowing poetry only as either greeting-card verse or undecipherable puzzles. In this collection, Leland Ryken, the dean of Christian literary scholars, gives back to contemporary Christians their rich literary heritage. First, he selects works of the highest aesthetic and spiritual quality; and, second, he offers brief commentary that unpacks each poem’s meaning, artistry, and theological depths. In showing how poetry is a ‘trap for meditation’ (as Denis de Rougemont called it), Ryken has given us a resource that will greatly enhance our Christian devotions.” ―Gene Edward Veith Jr., Professor of Literature Emeritus, Patrick Henry College“For most modern people, poetry is hard to read and not immediately rewarding. And yet, it is precisely that difficulty and the contemplation that it requires that makes reading poetry such a valuable exercise in a world of distractions. Leland Ryken has produced a volume that will aid Christians, even those not well versed in poetry, in delighting in the rich history of devotional poetry.”―O. Alan Noble, Assistant Professor of English, Oklahoma Baptist University; author, Disruptive Witness

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About the Author

Leland Ryken (PhD, University of Oregon) served as professor of English at Wheaton College for nearly 50 years. He has authored or edited over fifty books, including The Word of God in English and A Complete Handbook of Literary Forms in the Bible. He is a frequent speaker at the Evangelical Theological Society's annual meetings and served as literary stylist for the English Standard Version Bible.

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Product details

Hardcover: 272 pages

Publisher: Crossway (October 31, 2018)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1433558610

ISBN-13: 978-1433558610

Product Dimensions:

6.2 x 0.9 x 9.2 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

4.8 out of 5 stars

8 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#216,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

The Soul in Paraphrase is “an anthology of the best devotional poetry in English” edited by Leland Ryken, a long-time professor of English at Wheaton College, now retired. It takes its title from a line in George Herbert’s “Prayer,” which describes praying as “The soul in paraphrase,” among other things. The anthology presents 98 poems from “Caedmon’s Hymn” (the oldest extant English poem) to works by T. S. Eliot. Ryken’s scholarly remarks follow each poem.Ryken defines devotional poetry in both objective and subjective terms. Objectively, it “takes specifically spiritual experience for its subject matter,” which for Christian poets can include topics such as “the person and work of God, conviction and confession of sin, forgiveness, worship of God, and the church calendar with events like Christmas and Easter.”Subjectively, devotional poetry has an “effect on a reader.” It “fixes our thoughts on the spiritual life and inspires us toward excellence in it.” Because of this subjective effect, Ryken includes in his anthology poems of what he calls “the poetry of common experience or clarification.” Such poetry “does not signal a specifically Christian identity but is congruent with Christianity.” Because of this, it need not be written by Christian poets.As noted above, each poem is followed by Ryken’s “Notes on selected words” and “Commentary.” At first, I thought the definitions and commentary had an unweaving-the-rainbow quality to them. However, the deeper into the volume I got, the more I valued Ryken’s scholarly remarks because they helped me better understand what I had read.Because of that, I would recommend that you read the poem first, then read Ryken’s explanatory words, then go back and re-read the poem. Doing so will help you better appreciate the literary art and spiritual insight of each poem. These poems repay careful and repeated reading.I should add that I took two courses on English literature from Prof. Ryken when I attended Wheaton College (1987–1991). I thoroughly enjoyed both classes, especially the one on John Milton’s poetry. If you like this volume, I would encourage you to read his books on reading the Bible as literature, especially Words of Delight, A Complete Handbook of Literary Forms in the Bible, and Literary Introductions to Books of the Bible.One final note: Crossway is to be commended for printing an anthology of poetry in a beautiful hardcover with thick pages. Good poetry is a marriage of form and content, so it’s nice to see a publisher recognizing that good books are too.

This is such a wonderful resource!!

It’s been a long time since I browsed in a Christian bookstore. They’re exceptionally rare here in Maine, but on one of my last excursions, I inquired about the poetry section hoping to lay hands on something by Luci Shaw or Marjorie Maddox. Alas, it was not to be on this day.“We don’t carry poetry,” I was informed, in a tone that somehow made a virtue out of the omission, and given the disappointing nature of the Christian poetry that has found its way onto greeting cards and into cheerfully vapid collections over the years, maybe it’s just as well to save shelf space for more substantial material. Of course, the tragedy is that poorly written inspirational verse has inoculated the church against the rich treasury of devotional poetry that is part of our heritage and our history. Taking the religious life as its subject, devotional poetry shows rather than tells, suggests rather than argues, and has the lovely effect of prompting “us to think about God and spiritual truth.” (14)Leland Ryken, professor of English at Wheaton College for nearly 50 years, has done us the tremendous favor of sorting through the endless possibilities of great works and narrowing the field down to a manageable representative collection that begins with the oldest surviving poem in the English language and works its way up through modern times. The Soul in Paraphrase: A Treasury of Classic Devotional Poems provides helpful commentary on each work, beginning with explanation of unfamiliar or archaic terms and then moving on to enhance the reader’s understanding of artistry and content while noting specific devotional aspects of the poem.Ryken’s contributors include all the Johns (Milton, Donne, Bunyan, Dryden) and the Williams (Draper, Shakespeare, Wordsworth) along with a multitude of well-loved names including George Herbert, Gerard Manley Hopkins, C.S. Lewis, Christina Rossetti, Anne Bradstreet, and the Brontë Sisters. Perhaps the greatest treasure, however, is his inclusion of lesser known poets who wrote with great depth of soul. Exercising considerable restraint, I will share a few favorite excerpts along with insights from the commentary that have added to my contemplation of their deep theological truth and have enhanced my understanding of the rich mode of expression used by skillful poets throughout history.On the Incarnation:“‘Twas much, that man was made like God before,But, that God would be made like man, much more.” (78)“It is commonplace in Christian thinking that God made man in his own image. John Donne reverses that fact in a thought that is so unexpected that it can be considered a paradox: it is even more noteworthy that in the incarnation God was made in the image of man. [These] lines are an aphorism (a succinct and striking statement that we remember.)” (80)On Human Restlessness:“Let him be rich and weary, that at least,If goodness lead him not, yet wearinessMay toss him to my breast.” (92)In these words put in God’s mouth by George Herbert, “we are given the reason why God created people to be restless in the world. The poet imagines that God created people with a built-in ‘pulley’ that draws them to God.” (93)On the Key to a Meaningful Life:I confess to finding Milton’s writing to be beyond challenging — inscrutable, even — without assistance, but with the insights from Ryken’s notes alongside a slow and careful read, this excerpt in Adam’s words from the epic poem Paradise Lost are a road map for life in a fallen world:“Henceforth I learn that to obey is best,And love with fear the only God, to walkAs in his presence, ever to observeHis providence, and on him sole depend.” (133)On the Place of Lament in the Life of a Believer:Anne Bradstreet’s “Verses Upon the Burning of Our House” renders tragedy in verse without trivializing it. “The pitfall that a poet needs to avoid in a poem like this is allowing the consolation to come across as facile (too easily achieved and glibly stated). Bradstreet meets the challenge by fully acknowledging the human and earthly loss that she has sustained.” (137)“My pleasant things in ashes lieAnd them behold no more shall I.Under the roof no guest shall sit,Nor at thy table eat a bit . . .Then straight I ‘gin my heart to chide:And did thy wealth on earth abide,Didst fix thy hope on moldering dust,The arm of flesh dist make thy trust?” (136)By her example, we may carve out our own faithful living of lament and peaceful acceptance of the will of God.The Soul in Paraphrase as a title has been lifted from a poem by George Herbert:“Prayer, the church’s banquet, angel’s age,God’s breath in man returning to his birth,The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage,The Christian plummet sounding heaven and earth.” (8)Herbert is referring to prayer, the ability to live in God’s presence as angels live, but Ryken argues that devotional poetry serves the soul in the same way, rendering and representing our souls in words that we might have come up with ourselves— if only we had the skill.Many thanks to Crossway for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which, of course, is offered freely and with honesty.

Leland Ryken is the go-to guy for classic Christian literature, and this anthology is a valuable tool for both devotional reading and just plain literary pleasure. I know that with any anthology, it's easy to to quibble with individual selections, but this anthology includes the ones that most readers would expect: selections from Donne, Herbert, Milton, Hopkins, Eliot, and many others. But I was especially pleased with some of the rarities that Ryken pulled out of obscurity: I love the selections from early literature like "Dream of the Rood" and my long-time favorite, the 15th-century anonymous lyric "I Sing of a Maiden." I was especially pleased with the inclusion of one of the most neglected of mystic poets to have written in English, 17th-century Anglican mystic Thomas Traherne (his poem "Poverty"). And few other anthologists would have thought to include that tragic pre-Romantic poet Chatterton, who is largely forgotten today. Ryken also includes helpful commentaries for the poems and thoughtful theological overviews of selected poets at the end. All in all, an excellent selection. I would encourage the publisher to consider a similar collection of more modern and contemporary poetry (since Frost and Eliot are the most recent inclusions in this volume).(Disclosure: This volume was sent to me as a complimentary copy from the publisher.)

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