Francis and Clare in Poetry: An Anthology

A charming selection of warm, evocative portrayals in verse that evokes and honors its two good friends and fellow saints. With only a few slightly prosaic exceptions, this generous little anthology will repay the reader on many a visit. Its physical production does a particularly good job of delivering a durable, pocketable companion for an all but negligible outlay. I'm pleased to recommend this delightful compendium with enthusiasm. Its subjects live on its pages to embrace the reader.

The introduction to this anthology speaks of Francis and Clare as icons who have inspired "songs of homage, songs of veneration, songs that try to understand something of the mystery of their love of God and all God's creatures." Most of the dozens of "songs" in the anthology were written in modern times, thus such titles as "St. Francis in San Francisco" (Vachel Lindsay), and lines like "Speeding by rail through radiant woods/each day on my way to work/ I held Francis's words before me...." (Saint Francis in the City by Alexander Levering Kern). Marjorie Maddox writes of Clare as Patron Saint of Television: "On Palm Sunday in 1212 A.D., had there been T.V./ she would have been in the panoramic crowd...How she must pray now/for the remission of sins/of television..." The next poem (they are arranged alphabetically by author) is called "Black Truffles," and it begins with author Leo Luke Marcello's description of a meal at the Hotel Subasio. These contemporary themes are balanced by poems expressing the spirituality of Francis and Clare in more traditional language, and often set in the times the two saints lived. As a browse through the topical index will show, this is a finely balanced anthology that would make a thoughtful gift for anyone who appreciates spiritual reflection and poetry.