Word in the Wilderness: A poem a day for Lent and Easter

I love this book, its poetic interpretations, and theological insights. Malcolm Guite has written a gift to the church.

This year, for the Lenten season, I decided to read “The Word in the Wilderness” by Malcolm Guite. Subtitled “A Poem a Day for Lent and Easter,” the book is simultaneously a devotional and a poetry reader.Some might argue that “devotional” and “poetry reader” are possibly redundant. I might be one of those making that argument. Guite certainly is: “…the poetic imagination does indeed redress an imbalance and is a necessary complement to more rationalistic and analytical ways of knowing. What I would like to do in this book is top put that insight into practice, and turn to poetry for a clarification of who we are, how we pray, how we journey through our lives with God and how he comes to journey with us.”The book is divided into seven sections, each with an introduction followed by daily poetry readings. Many of the poems are by Guite himself, but you will also find Seamus Heaney, Dante, John Donne, Alfred Tennyson, Gerald Manley Hopkins, Czelaw Milosz and others.This Guite sonnet is the reading for Ash Wednesday:Ash WednesdayReceive this cross of ask upon your browBrought from the burning of Palm Sunday’s cross;The forests of the world are burning nowAnd you make late repentance for the loss.But all the trees of God would clap their hands,The very stones themselves would shout and sing,If you could covenant to love these landsAnd recognize in Christ their lord and king.He sees the slow destruction of those trees,He weeps to see the ancient places burn,And still you make what purchases you pleaseAnd still to dust and ashes you return.But Hope could rise from ashes even nowBeginning with this sign upon your brow.He then wonders at the use of ashes – a sign of destruction – as “a sign of repentance and renewal.” And yet there is something profound in that sign being both one of renewal and a signal of our ultimate return to ashes and dust.Guite is a poet, but he is also an Anglican priest and chaplain of Girton College at the University of Cambridge. He’s published several books, including several poetry collections, such as “Sounding the Seasons” and “The Singing Bowl”. He’s a lecturer and speaker. And he’s a rock band musician part of the Cambridge-based group Mystery Train. He received his undergraduate and masters degrees from Cambridge, and a Ph.D from Durham University, where his dissertation focused on the poets Lancelot Andrewes and John Donne and their influence on T.S. Eliot.I’ve now read the first three of the poems and readings in “The Word in the Wilderness.” Already I know that this is a Lenten journey well worth taking.

I was attracted to this book because. I have read other work by Malcom Guite.This book was about. Malcolm has assembled poems for each day of lent, some from his own collection, some from his favorite authors. Malcolm explains the poem’s meaning, history, and author.Things I liked about this book. I’m always moved by Malcolm’s poetry or choices in poverty and his thoughts on the poems. This book brought me ideas and understanding outside my immediate faith traditions.Why you should read this book. While the poems are meaningful on their own merit, this is a powerful Lent/Easter devotional to follow in season as you meditate on what Christ did for us.This book lived up to the back cover copy. The information provided on the back cover gives you insight into the poets and content in the book.

After having this book recommended from several different sources over the last couple years, I finally ordered it in time for Lent this year. My husband and I read it out loud together after getting the kids to bed each night. It was so good. I loved being creatively, intellectually, and spiritually challenged by each day's reading. It was my first Malcolm Guite book and I want to read more! I loved his poetry as well as many of the selections he brought in for each day. I was also grateful for his meditations on each poem - breaking down sections of the poems and helping to illuminate their meanings. It was helpful to read this with my husband and discuss each poem after the reading which helped me to get even more out of the experience that I would have on my own. I'll reread this next year - it's a great Lent/Holy Week/ Easter companion!

I've been reading this book each day throughout Lent this year and have found it to be enriching. There's a poem for each day, along with a reflection on that poem. I've really enjoyed taking a few minutes each day to read and reflect. The author has interesting insights into the poems, which I find helpful to better understand them. I also have the Advent poem-a-day book by this author, which I also really enjoyed.

I read this work through Lent with a group of colleagues. The poems are rich and meaningful, and the commentary is appropriate. At points in the journey, it drug on a bit. Honestly, I’m not sure that the dragging was the book. It is more likely a criticism of my sluggish discipline.

I've long been hoping to become more of a poetry reader but was always quite intimidated. The works in this collection are from a variety of poets, and the author's discussion of each poem has made the genre much more accessible. I do not come from a congregation that strictly follows the church calendar, and this book has helped me to understand and appreciate the season of Lent all the more. I look forward to reading more of Guite's work.

Don’t be fooled by this plain cover, this book is dripping with deep spiritual wisdom.

I really enjoyed this book as a companion throughout Lent and Easter. Malcolm Guite's reflections that accompany each poem were so valuable, both as a help in understanding the poem and the poet, but also as a deeper reflection on the themes of the poem and how they related to the Easter season. Highly recommend as a Lent/Easter devotional book, especially if you are looking for one that is out of the ordinary.

Malcom Guite is one of my favourite poets, so to read a selection of his beautiful sonnets, alongside an eclectic mix from others, was a great treat and a wonderful way to spend the Lenten season.Here we have a poem a day, followed by Malcolm's reflection and unravelling of it. There's an introduction which helps prepare our hearts for the weeks ahead. Each week of Lent has its own theme which includes a selection of sonnets and other poetic styles incorporated with insightful prose.As the book draws to its natural conclusion, we are left with an appendix of poems to be read during the Saints' Days in Lent. I found this an invaluable resource, rich in imagery and reflective ideas. My own faith tradition fails to celebrate Lent in this way, and it was refreshing to feel a little more prepared for the darker days of Lent and the jubilation of Easter to come. I highly recommend it for the poetry alone, but Malcolm's own thoughts lend weight, depth and greater interest to the book as a whole.

It's still early in Lent, but I have found this anthology so illuminating that I want to say so now while others might still purchase a copy. As for me, I'll be returning to it often. I do not read much poetry normally, but this book may change my mind. It is a great guide.

In this masterful compilation of many poets, Malcolm Guite guides the true Christian along the 40 days of Lent and its climax of Easter. Thoughts elucidated with the breath of the Spirit make these morning meditations a joy in the midst of reflection on knowing ourselves as God knows us. Truly a book for all to use more than once!

I have not read a Lent book for several years and did not fancy reading one of my previous ones. Then I came across this one. I am not someone who normally reads poetry but this was different. And I loved it and WANTED to read it each day. I enjoyed the poems and Malcolm Guite's prose and also loved learning snippets about the poets. Thank you Malcolm for a very instructive and enlightening Lent.