Mary's House: New and Selected Poems

Mary's House: New and Selected Poems by David Craig is a veritable hipster/scholar's Lives of the Saints, taking us from the Psalms through a splendid, giddy, brilliant chorus of saints-women and men. Whether Craig is musing on a city stoplight glimpsed through a black iron fence or the sacred antics of Francis of Assisi on Mt. Alvernia, everything for this poet pulses with God's breath and love. Moreover Craig is a master of both the short and long forms of his craft. This volume contains three of his most poignant narrative sequences, stirring in their historical sweep and vibrant in their intimacy: his portraits of Francis of Assisi, Thérèse of Lisieux, and Blessed Anna-Maria Taigi. Selected also are a number of Craig's psalm translations and his remarkable sequence of sonnet meditations on Matthew's Gospel. As always, Craig's language is immediate, expressive, rich in imagery, as subtly crafted and luminous as stained glass.