Books

My Top 5 Books on Poetry for the Soul

Picks by Roger Lundin, the author of “Believing Again: Doubt and Faith in a Secular Age.”

The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson: Emily Dickinson, ed. Thomas H. Johnson (Back Bay Books)

When it comes to God, Dickinson wrote near the end of her life, “we both believe, and disbelieve a hundred times an Hour, which keeps Believing nimble.” These dazzling, gnomic poems both comfort and confound the soul.

Selected Poems and Four Plays: William Butler Yeats, ed. M. L. Rosenthal (Scribner)ed. M. L. Rosenthal (Scribner)

Yeats was a nominal Protestant who dabbled in esoteric religious practices, but his poetry nevertheless bore the imprint of biblical language and logic. Like a mystic meditating on the meaning of Christ’s wounds, he sensed “nothing can be sole or whole / That has not been rent.”

New and Collected Poems: 1931-2001 Czeslaw Milosz (ECCO)

Shaped by the sufferings of Poland in World War II, this Nobel Prize—winning Catholic poet was driven by doubt yet also fueled by the hope that one day we “will rise, in undiminished light, / And be real, strong, free.” A remarkable thinker, an astonishing poet.

Collected Poems: 1943-2004 Richard Wilbur (Mariner)

For almost 70 years, Wilbur has been writing poems marked by exceptional wisdom, elegance, and grace. “In the strict sense,” he observes, “We invent nothing, merely bearing witness / To what each morning brings again to light.”

Every Riven Thing: Poems Christian Wiman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Recently published, this collection is packed with deeply personal poems of unusual depth, clarity, and candor. They speak of suffering and seeking in a world in which “God goes belonging to every riven thing He’s made.”

Copyright © 2011 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

Roger Lundin is the author of Believing Again: Doubt and Faith in a Secular Age.

The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, Selected Poems and Four Plays, New and Collected Poems, Collected Poems, and Every Riven Thing are available from Amazon.com and other retailers.

Previous Top 5 lists have featured C.S. Lewis, the historical Jesus, family ministry, the problem of evil, biographies of theologians, orphans, prayer, doubt, community, sports, parenting, Advent, life ethics, emerging movement, Islam, loss, Calvin, spiritual memoirs, neglected doctrines, spiritual memoirs, marriage, Lent, fiction books for the soul, managing your money, devotionals, how character shapes belief, food, atheism, China, presidents, world Christianity, ancient-future faith, the civil rights era, social justice, church history, popular culture, the Civil War, apologetics, atheism, and sex.

Christianity Today has more music, movies, books, and other media reviews.

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

Cover Story

Chasing Methuselah

Unreasonable Doubt

How to Teach Sex

Review

The Center of the Good News

Changing Forever How You Think

Wilson's Bookmarks

The Enduring Church

Filling the Dad Gap

Review

Luminous Slice of China

Connoisseur for Christ: Roberta Green Ahmanson

Books to Note

News

'Chilling Verdict'

News

Bhutan Budges

Flunking Pew's Pop Quiz

News

Generic Christian U.

The Meaning of Business

Give to Street People?

Excerpt

Wise Stewards

Editorial

Cracks in the Crystal Cathedral

News

Go Figure

Sudan's Politics of Prayer

News

Constructing Peace

The Rush to Reconcile

Readers Write

News

A Developing Nation Inside the U.S.

A God-Sized Food Bank

News

CIA Releases Missionary Plane Shooting Report, Church Bolts over ELCA Agricultural Proposal & More

Stay Young! Live Longer!

News

Top 10 News Stories of 2010

News

Boarding Bust: Schools for Missionary Kids See Lower Attendance

News

Resist the TSA?

Interview: Condoleezza Rice's Faith Context for Foreign Policy

View issue

Our Latest

News

A Sudden Death: Voddie Baucham, Who Warned the Church of Fault Lines

Known for confronting critical theory, moral relativism, and secular ideologies, Baucham died a month into leading a new seminary in Florida.

Why Many Black Christians Reject the Evangelical and Mainline Labels

The history of a prominent church pastored by MLK in Alabama shows the reason African Americans often don’t embrace either term.

News

Pastor Abducted in Nigeria Amid Escalating Kidnapping Crisis

Armed gang continues to hold him after family paid the ransom.

Review

The Liturgy of American Charisma

Historian Molly Worthen studies dynamic leaders, eager followers, and their shared efforts to “consecrate a new reality.”

Inside the Ministry

The Next Gen Initiative

Casting a captivating vision of following Jesus for the next generation.

The Just Life with Benjamin Watson

Bruce Deel: Mercy With A Spine

Creating real pathways to stability so families can flourish through housing, work, and dignity.

News

Where Refugees Were Seen as an Opportunity from God

In Sweden, a church continues to advocate evangelism of Muslims, despite criticism from all sides.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube