"Glory in the Margins is a gift and a challenge: a collection that could be well-worn by pastors and prisoners, could be healing in both a hospital room or busy auditorium, and could offer inspiration in both the quiet of personal devotion or a bustling sanctuary." —Dana VanderLugt, Reformed Journal New York Times bestselling author and poet Nikki Grimes explains, "A study of scripture reveals that Jesus spent a lot of time with people in the margins. As an African American, I live in the margins, and I can tell you that it's a place most of us would rather not be. And yet, I know there is always glory to be found in the margins because of the Lord's presence in, and with us." "As Poet Laureate of my Grace Brethren Church in Southern California, it's my job to distill the heart of the weekly sermon into a poem. I dive into each week's chosen scripture, viewing it from my own perspective as Black, as woman, as poet, always a little left of center, and looking for the glory to be found in the margins of life, and of the text. Of course, those of us who live in the margins are not what anyone expects, and the very notion that God might speak through us, through me, may seem a bit wild. But he does. 'I will pour out my spirit on all flesh,' said the Lord. God's busy in the hearts of all who call on him." Glory in the Margins is published under Paraclete Press's Iron Pen imprint. In the book of Job, a suffering man pours out his anguish to his Maker. From the depths of his pain, he reveals a trust in God's goodness that is stronger than his despair, giving humanity some of the most beautiful and poetic verses of all time. Paraclete's Iron Pen imprint is inspired by this spirit of unvarnished honesty and tenacious hope.

A new collection from Sister Sharon Hunter, CJ celebrating the people and circumstances who help make us what we are. "For several months in 2020, I awoke most days at 3:00 a.m. to a mind busily at work; my own, of course. I had a choice to make, ignore it or explore it. Vivid memories, pictures really, of people I once knew climbed from the depth of my subconscious where I'd cleverly assigned them. They captured my attention, and rightfully so, for I owed them. When we reject our heritage, as I did, because it's not image worthy, we cancel as well those who enhanced our lives. Good people, brave people, wise people, sometimes shady and crooked people, all contribute to our circle of life. To fully understand me, I must include them. Chance Encounters is my thank you to those I carelessly tossed away in quest of shallow acceptability. They're alive once again on the pages of this book. And I'm forever grateful for their vibrant beauty, courage, ingenuity, and fascinating eccentricities. They paid the world the high compliment of being themselves." —Sister Sharon Hunter, CJ

"These poems hear your broken heart and help you name your unshed tears." —Ronald Rolheiser, author of Holy Longing Poems of pain and forgiveness, for those who struggle to find healing from a childhood marked by addiction To Shatter Glass is essentially a memoir in poetic form, tracing seventy years of struggle and experience. In her early thirties, at the end of an abusive and childless marriage, Sister Sharon Hunter entered a modern convent. Neither sheltered nor immune from reality, she confronted demons of the past and trauma brought with her, unresolved and in need of healing. Her collection obliterates a common belief that men and women enter religious orders to escape life. Its fifty-six poems vary in style and capture the heart and imagination of those searching for straight answers to difficult questions. It touches on the need to know ourselves, to accept our humanity as defined by God, and to strive toward reconciliation through self-examination and forgiveness. To Shatter Glass is an invitation to wholeness for those scarred by family alcoholism. It is written for the quiet and sensitive buried by depression, and for those who may be too afraid to expose their wounds. It is for anyone who has experienced betrayal or the loss of a loved one through tragic circumstances. This is the first book in Paraclete's Iron Pen imprint. In the book of Job, a suffering man pours out his anguish to his Maker. From the depths of his pain, he reveals a trust in God's goodness that is stronger than his despair, giving humanity some of the most beautiful and poetic verses of all time. Paraclete's Iron Pen imprint is inspired by this spirit of unvarnished honesty and tenacious hope.

Love Holds You is a collection of poetry and devotions from beloved author Christine Valters Paintner. Amid the daily grind, the pain and loss, the fears and doubts, you can lose sight of the firm bedrock of love beneath your feet. Christine weaves together reflections from her own life with her signature poems, encouraging you to find your own new path forward as you start to see the beauty and wonder all around you. As Christine reflects on the moments and events that shaped her, she invites you to: - Recognize the tangible expressions of love that can be found even in the midst of grief - Reclaim hope and healing after times of turmoil - Discover the strength that God gives you through the beauty of creation - Nurture your inner poet, artist, and spiritual pilgrim A compassionate and experienced retreat leader, Christine has cultivated a following of artists, poets, and spiritual seekers through her Abbey of the Arts, a virtual monastery and global community based in Ireland. Love Holds You is an excellent gift for friends during times of loss, life transition, or uncertainty, or simply a gift for yourself. Watch the Book Trailer HERE!

In his famed treatise Either/Or, Christian existentialist philosopher Søren Kierkegaard suggests that our basic human condition is one of choice and freedom. But what about when we struggle to discern the right path forward, when we stumble between contradictory desires, when we want everything? Such insatiability – which the ancient Greeks called pleonexia – leads to suffering and sorrow for ourselves and others, not to mention the earth we call home. But what about when "either/or" thinking becomes too rigid in its limits? What about those moments when we see scarcity instead of the many possibilities that abound, when fear keeps us from giving and receiving our full share? This book of poetry is an exploration of those times when it is necessary to make either/or choices as well as other times when, even if only briefly, we are able to echo Richard Rohr in affirming, "Yes, And." It is a story of stumbling in darkness and seeking light, of succumbing to sinfulness and facing consequences, of desiring deeply and bumping up against limits. It's about addiction and recovery, justice and mercy, redemption found through friendship and community. It's about seeking ways to open doors and tear down walls. Ultimately, it is about the divine grace that occasionally manages to expand our possibilities, transforming us into vessels of boundless compassion.

"Cornered by the Dark is a triumph." —Junot Díaz, author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao W. H. Auden, Jorge Luis Borges, Howard Thurman, Julia Equivel, Thomas Merton, Langston Hughes, Pedro Pietri and Miguel Piñero, in their work make a connection between poetry, social criticism and the meaning of life together—that is a part of Harold Recinos' literary labor. His work creates a fusion between the personal and the public in verse that is searching, expansive, and walking hurt streets. Cornered by the Dark is a work about truth-telling and witness-bearing to the marginal men, women, and children who tell their story about a culture of indifference and callousness while finding courage and compassion to hope in everyday life. Cornered by the Dark is published under Paraclete Press's Iron Pen imprint. In the book of Job, a suffering man pours out his anguish to his Maker. From the depths of his pain, he reveals a trust in God's goodness that is stronger than his despair, giving humanity some of the most beautiful and poetic verses of all time. Paraclete's Iron Pen imprint is inspired by this spirit of unvarnished honesty and tenacious hope.

A posthumous collection of poems on the beauty of the seasons, creation, life and death, from beloved poet Catherine de Vinck. In the words of the Foreword by Mary Evelyn Tucker, the poetry of Catherine de Vinck, "calls us to ever greater awareness of who we are and where we dwell. She offers us glimpses of truth, not answers to our questions. She lights the path, sometimes with the brilliance of a single image. More often she surrounds us with the atmosphere of dusk—the twilight arising in our consciousness where mood and memory mingle."

Holy Sparks is a collection of poems grounded in a belief in the kinship between the cosmos and its Creator. Biophilic imagery is used throughout the poems to suggest that reverence for the earth is a natural consequence of reverence for God. The language of poetry is used to interconnect the human, natural and sacred, and to express humanity's moral and ethical responsibility to our nonhuman kin. These poems question what it means for humans to live in right relationship with earth's lifesystems, and they suggest that our very identity is tied to our reverence for the natural world. They offer a space of confession, reparation and praise of what remains. Holy Sparks is a call to partake of Earth's wisdom so that we might participate in the Creator's ongoing work.

A new collection from the best and most prolific poets published in the Christian Century over the past twenty-five years. The 34 poets whose work appears defy the narcissistic tendencies of so much contemporary poetry. They do not necessarily express a particular orthodoxy, but they do connect with something larger than the self. Theirs is poetry that attempts to revitalize language, especially theological language. It is poetry that attempts to upset the usual modes of expression and offers up new angles of vision, especially in regard to biblical stories. For most of the poets—though not all by any means—Jesus is the Word made flesh, and the Incarnation is the paradigm as poets attempt to enflesh the abstract, make the spirit tangible, and put into words the unsayable. Poets have a way of taking on what utterly cannot be done. And those are the poems that should appear in a journal of religious news and reflection. The poetic approaches and styles of the work of these poets are immensely varied, from the masterful narratives of Sydney Lea to the finely wrought lyrics of Charles Hughes to the always edgy and surprising poems of Bill Stadick to the most imagistic and prolific work of Luci Shaw to the provocative poems of Christian Wiman. Then there are the superb sonnets of Gracia Grindal and Angela Alaimo O'Donnell and the compelling explorations of the deep spirituality of the everyday that comprise Tania Runyan's vision. The poems in the journal often explore biblical themes, doctrinal issues, or theological conundrums. But many of the poems that appear in the Christian Century present human experience or encounters with the natural world that do not seem on the surface "religious" but reveal a deep humanity at the core. What defines all of these poems is a commitment to communicating with readers seeking truth, beauty, and authenticity. Watch the Book Trailer HERE!