All the Days of My Life: Poems to Console and Inspire Book

Editor Philip Davis takes on the rather daunting task of compiling a collection which addresses the relevance of religious poetry in our daily lives. By religion, he means strictly the Christian faith and this may be the first stumbling block for some in societies that have become much more spiritually diverse. His insistence on using poets in English means that he omits great poets such as Paul Celan and Rilke, but there is no reason given for excluding other greats such as Sharon Olds, Anne Sexton, Mark Doty and UA Fanthorpe, all of who grapple rigorously with questions of ontology. Davis turns instead to the beloved classics of Shakespeare, Milton, Herbert, Wordsworth, Donne and the rather indigestible Henry Vaughan. Occasionally he counterposes the classic with a contemporary response such as "One Clear Call" by Dennis Haskell which truly reinvigorates and recontextualises the traditional poem. Haskell's simple, direct and moving account of grief uses Tennyson's "Crossing the Bar" and ends all doubt about the power of poetry to "console and inspire"--the subtitle of Davis' book. Although a little stuffy and dense at times, the collection also introduces some lesser known poets such as the 18th century Christopher Smart with his hilarious and astonishingly fresh poem of worship to his cat. "For he will not do destruction, if he is well-fed, neither will he spit with provocation, / For he purrs in thankfulness, when God tells him he's a good Cat." A great find. Other poems such as "My Song is Love Unknown" many readers will recall as hymns from school assembly and are impossible to read without the melody coming to life in one's head. Davis also includes two wonderful poems on faithlessness--CK Williams "Ethics" and Shakespeare's Sonnet 110: "Mine appetite I never more will grind/ On newer proof, to try an older friend ..." There is a lighter touch with Raymond Carver's colloquial yet devastating "What the Doctor Said" in which he learns he has lung cancer. Australian poet Les Murray is well represented and in "Poetry and Religion" he remarks: "Religions are poems ... And God is the poetry caught in any religion, caught not imprisoned." His "The Last Hellos" is a superbly witty send-off to his dad. "Snobs mind us off religion / nowdays, if they can./ Fuck them. wish you God." --Cherry SmythRead More