Twisted Shapes of Light

by William Jolliff

Overview

Whether recalling long days on a tractor, late nights at prayer meeting, or the joyful heartbreak of raising a family, the poems in Twisted Shapes of Light take truth where they find it. William Jolliff wraps both arms around the phenomenon old Quakers called "that of God in everyone," welcoming into his work a unique cast of characters seldom portrayed in contemporary poetry. The result is an honest struggle with faith and failure—and even an occasional revelation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498208420
Publisher:	Cascade Books
Publication date:	05/11/2015
Series:	Poiema Poetry , #16
Pages:	92
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.38(d)

About the Author

William Jolliff grew up on a family farm just outside Magnetic Springs, Ohio, and currently serves as Professor of English at George Fox University. His previous books include The Poetry of John Greenleaf Whittier: A Readers' Edition (2000).

Table of Contents

Part 1 Age and Belief 1

Age and Belief 3

Ways to Die 4

Pictures of Katie 5

Small College, Small Town 7

Diet of Worms 8

Sunday Vigil on the Corner 9

Lunch with the Lords Anarchists 10

Ramblin' Seth Plays the Red & Black Cafe 11

The Labyrinth Speaks 13

Big Bang 14

The Elders Visit 16

A Blessing: Eleanor, Lila, Ellen and Mack 18

Part 2 Reach Hither Thy Finger 19

The Price of Salvation 21

The Wise and Foolish Virgins Redux 22

Touching Abishag 24

Adam Walks 25

Elisha and the Limits of Grace 27

Noah's Children 28

Legion's Farewell to the Gerasenes 29

Ananias's Confession 30

Reach Hither Thy Finger 31

Feeding the 5000, or How the Gospel Came To Oregon 32

The Prophet Amos Adds a Postscript 33

Part 3 The Fleshy Ear of God 35

The Last Pasture 37

Steers in Winter 38

The Hardness of the Pews 39

Dairymen at Prayer Meeting 40

Rain on a Barn South of Tawas 41

The Witness 42

God Crazy 43

Tilly Read of the Dust Bowl 45

The Sounds That Feed Us 46

Resurrection 47

Part 4 One Wheel in the Furrow 49

Spring Plowing 51

The Best Novembers 52

The Sheep Farmer 53

Whatever Was Ripe 54

The Funerals of Poor People 56

Communion at Union City Mission 57

For Charlie, in Lucasville Prison 58

Felon 59

Why the Laundromat Lady Is So Fat 60

Thanksgiving 62

Dust of the Gods 63

Part 5 The Garden Again 65

Sermon for a Monday 67

The Art of Augury 68

The Way We Live with Sorrow 69

Online Registration for Fall Term 71

From Where I Stood 72

Family Band at Union Gospel Mission 73

The Fuse Box 74

The Least We Owe 76

Leaf Fall 77

When the Children Go Away 78

Pilgrims' Road 79

The Garden Again 80

Acknowledgments 81

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Jolliff is like a postmodern Job, who alternates between belief, skepticism, and earnest longing to believe. His poems create a theodicy by presenting intimate portraits of family, personages from history, and biblical characters, or even himself, cataloging with deft observation and wry wit the foibles and real evil along with uncalculated, unconscious acts of virtue and love."
—David Mehler, editor of Triggerfish Critical Review

"Twisted Shapes of Light maps a humanity sown, cultivated, tended, and harvested from the farms and churches of Midwest Ohio to the suburbs and campuses of coastal Oregon. Jolliff's deeply lived poems sing a faithful compassion towards people and places that often defy any evidence of a merciful God. Dramatizing how we live our doubt and pain, our belief and joy, these verses remind us that evidence is not what we need."
—Samuel Smith, Professor of English, Messiah College

"Jolliff captures struggle with spirit in all its forms: the trepidations of a student at registration, the mirror of reluctance seen in cattle stunned with the unexpected gift of hay in winter, the unabashed joyous explosion of children from stifling schoolhouse doors, and the ghosts that visit a farmer listening to the devilish beat of rain on a tin barn roof. . . . And, of course, the songs of the people at missions, in the fields, at funerals, and in shelters—Jolliff adds his delicate songs to theirs in unison."
—Michael F. Latza, editor of Willow Review

"Humble and radiant, Jolliff tends the thorns of faith knowing that to touch is to bleed, to grasp the rough-hewn cross is to ask for a handful of splinters. But what joy in the wounding, Jolliff proclaims with a penitents' bold irreverence and deep compassion."
—Gina Ochsner, author of People I Wanted to Be

"From a mud-wracked farm in southern Ohio to a small gray college in western Oregon, Jolliff carries with him the shadows of the poor in spirit cast by 'twisted shapes of light.' Few other poets can so evoke the wretchedness of our human experience and yet, at the same time, intuit its hidden spiritual comforts. Read him for a shock of dire recognition and come away with hard-earned hope."
—Paul J. Willis, author of Say This Prayer into the Past

"These poems not only reveal Jolliff as a beautiful writer and craftsman but also as a sharp-eyed observer of the world, offering a vision that is simultaneously generous, precise, and humorous. Twisted Shapes of Light manages to achieve two sometimes contradictory goals: rewarding the poetry aficionado while welcoming the casual reader."
—Nathaniel L. Hansen, editor of Windhover: A Journal of Christian Literature

Editorial Reviews

"Jolliff is like a postmodern Job, who alternates between belief, skepticism, and earnest longing to believe. His poems create a theodicy by presenting intimate portraits of family, personages from history, and biblical characters, or even himself, cataloging with deft observation and wry wit the foibles and real evil along with uncalculated, unconscious acts of virtue and love."
—David Mehler, editor of Triggerfish Critical Review

"Twisted Shapes of Light maps a humanity sown, cultivated, tended, and harvested from the farms and churches of Midwest Ohio to the suburbs and campuses of coastal Oregon. Jolliff's deeply lived poems sing a faithful compassion towards people and places that often defy any evidence of a merciful God. Dramatizing how we live our doubt and pain, our belief and joy, these verses remind us that evidence is not what we need."
—Samuel Smith, Professor of English, Messiah College

"Jolliff captures struggle with spirit in all its forms: the trepidations of a student at registration, the mirror of reluctance seen in cattle stunned with the unexpected gift of hay in winter, the unabashed joyous explosion of children from stifling schoolhouse doors, and the ghosts that visit a farmer listening to the devilish beat of rain on a tin barn roof. . . . And, of course, the songs of the people at missions, in the fields, at funerals, and in shelters—Jolliff adds his delicate songs to theirs in unison."
—Michael F. Latza, editor of Willow Review

"Humble and radiant, Jolliff tends the thorns of faith knowing that to touch is to bleed, to grasp the rough-hewn cross is to ask for a handful of splinters. But what joy in the wounding, Jolliff proclaims with a penitents' bold irreverence and deep compassion."
—Gina Ochsner, author of People I Wanted to Be

"From a mud-wracked farm in southern Ohio to a small gray college in western Oregon, Jolliff carries with him the shadows of the poor in spirit cast by 'twisted shapes of light.' Few other poets can so evoke the wretchedness of our human experience and yet, at the same time, intuit its hidden spiritual comforts. Read him for a shock of dire recognition and come away with hard-earned hope."
—Paul J. Willis, author of Say This Prayer into the Past

"These poems not only reveal Jolliff as a beautiful writer and craftsman but also as a sharp-eyed observer of the world, offering a vision that is simultaneously generous, precise, and humorous. Twisted Shapes of Light manages to achieve two sometimes contradictory goals: rewarding the poetry aficionado while welcoming the casual reader."
—Nathaniel L. Hansen, editor of Windhover: A Journal of Christian Literature

From the Publisher