A Great Ring Of Pure And Endless Light

A Great Ring of Pure and Endless Light: Selected Poems By Henry Vaughan A cluster of the very best of Henry Vaughan's Metaphysical poems, which are filled with a 'deep, but dazzling darkness'. Lesser known Vaughan works, including some love poems, are collected here beside the famous pieces such as 'The Morning Watch', 'The World' and 'The Night'. Henry Vaughan is the Metaphysical poet from the Welsh borders (he was born at Newton-upon-Usk, Breconshire, in 1621). He went up to Oxford, studied law in London, wrote some astounding religious poetry, and died in 1695. The dazzling night pervades Henry Vaughan's poetry. It is a cosmic night, a night of regeneration. Many of the Vaughan poems collected here pivot around an experience of the cosmic, religious night, from 'The World', with its famous, much-anthologized opening lines: 'I saw Eternity the other night Like a great Ring of pure and endless light'. It is a night of rebirth, the night as a dark womb, in which the world is reborn. Cosmic rebirth is one of the major themes in Vaughan's poetry, and especially in his collection or series of sacred poems, Silex Scintillans. Henry Vaughan is one of the most radiant of British poets. Like other Metaphysical poets (poets such as George Herbert, Richard Crashaw, Andrew Marvell and John Donne), the deep darkness of the alchemical ferment in Vaughan's poetry is balanced by a radiance, a light shining out of the darkness. It is a divine light, as found in the Mystical Theology of the influential Christian writer, Dionysius the Areopagite. Dionysius' Neoplatonic visions of divinity and the celestial hierarchies of angels influenced Dante Alighieri, among many others poets. Henry Vaughan's poetry moves from dark to light, with the seeds of one being always present in the other. His nights, for all their darkness, also grow light. Vaughan's poetry is about big themes, cosmic themes, religious themes, with titles such as 'The World', 'Regeneration', 'Peace', and 'The Retreat'. Vaughan is not shy of big themes, as some poets are. He dives right in. His openings are particular powerful, striking up a majestic tone immediately: I saw Eternity the other night Like a great Ring of pure and endless light... ('The World') Happy those early days! when I Shined in my Angel-infancy. ('The Retreat') 'My soul, there is a country Far beyond the stars... ('Peace') They are all gone into the world of light! And I alone sit ling'ring here... ("They are all gone") Through that pure Virgin-shine, That sacred veil drawn o'er the glorious noon... ('The Night') Revised and updated text. Illustrated. www.crmoon.com

In book four of the award-winning Austin Family Chronicles young adult series from Madeleine L’Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time, Vicky Austin experiences the difficulties and joys of growing up. "This wasn't the first time that I'd come close to death, but it was the first time I'd been involved in this part of it, this strange, terrible saying goodbye to someone you've loved." These are Vicky Austin's thoughts as she stands near Commander Rodney's grave while her grandfather, who himself is dying of cancer, recites the funeral service. Watching his condition deteriorate over that long summer is almost more than she can bear. Then, in the midst of her struggle, she finds herself the center of attention for three young men. Leo, Commander Rodney's son, turns to her as an old friend seeking comfort but longing for romance. Zachary, whose attempted suicide inadvertently caused Commander Rodney's death, sees her as the one sane and normal person who can give some meaning to his life. And Adam, a serious young student working at the nearby marine-biology station, discovers Vicky, his friend's little sister, incipient telepathic powers that can help him with his experiments in dolphin communications. Vicky finds solace and brief moments of peace in her poetry, but life goes on around her, and the strain intensifies as she confronts matters of love and of death, of dependence and of responsibility, universal concerns that we all must face. The inevitable crisis comes and Vicky must rely on openness, sensitivity, and the love of others to overcome her private grief. Once again, Madeleine L'Engle has written a story that revels in the drama of vividly portrayed characters and events of the spiritual and moral dimensions of common human experiences. A Ring of Endless Light is a 1981 Newbery Honor Book. Books by Madeleine L'Engle A Wrinkle in Time Quintet A Wrinkle in Time A Wind in the Door A Swiftly Tilting Planet Many Waters An Acceptable Time A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Madeleine L'Engle; adapted & illustrated by Hope Larson Intergalactic P.S. 3 by Madeleine L'Engle; illustrated by Hope Larson: A standalone story set in the world of A Wrinkle in Time. The Austin Family Chronicles Meet the Austins (Volume 1) The Moon by Night (Volume 2) The Young Unicorns (Volume 3) A Ring of Endless Light (Volume 4) A Newbery Honor book! Troubling a Star (Volume 5) The Polly O'Keefe books The Arm of the Starfish Dragons in the Waters A House Like a Lotus And Both Were Young Camilla The Joys of Love

Henry Vaughan was a Welsh physician and much admired metaphysical poet. Vaughan spent most of his life in the village of Llansantffraed, near Brecon. He was schooled locally before progressing to Jesus College, Oxford in 1638. Family pressure for him to pursue a career in Law meant acceding to that request in 1640. Vaughan's continuing study of the law was also interrupted by military service and upon his return from this he now began to practice medicine. By 1646, he had married Catherine Wise with whom he reared a son, Thomas, and three daughters, Lucy, Frances, and Catherine. In 1647 Henry Vaughan and his family decided to live in the country. It was here he wrote Olor Iscanus, the (Swan of Usk) which lay unpublished until 1651. The period shortly preceding the publication of Henry Vaughan's Silex Scintillans marks an important period of his life. Vaughan interprets this experience to be an encounter with death and believes he is spared to make amends and start a new course not only in his life but in the literature he would produce. It is with Vaughan's conversion and the writing of Silex Scintillans that he now receives significant acclaim. He was greatly indebted to George Herbert, who provided a model for Vaughan's newly founded spiritual life and literary career, in which he displays 'spiritual quickening and the gift of gracious feeling' derived from Herbert. Vaughan elaborated on personal loss in two well-known poems, 'The World' and 'They Are All Gone into the World of Light.' Another poem, 'The Retreat, ' combines the theme of loss with the corruption of childhood, which is yet another consistent theme of Vaughan's and which we collect here amongst the poetry volume. As is so often the case greatness is bestowed only after death and Henry Vaughan alas falls into that category. He died on April 23, 1695, aged 74 and is buried in the churchyard of St Bridget's, Llansantffraed, Powys.

These poems express my 75 years of experiencing the world as a child, adult, teacher, artist, son, father, husband, lover, adventurer: a poet. I have spoken with stones, clouds, bugs, ghosts, a grandson, Native American elders, a mother and father, students, ex-wife, and friends in Greece, Japan, Yemen, Santa Fe, and my birthplace, Tacoma, Washington. I care about what and how I write while letting the poems speak on their own, in their own time. A poem may come in a meeting with Natalie Goldberg, David Whyte, Joan Logghe, Morgan Farley, Sharon Olds, a friend in a local writing group, at a stoplight, on the Hopi Reservation, in the middle of the night in my home, with a group of artists at the Congo River, at Coole Lake in Ireland with my daughter, on a beach in Leros, in the Dodecanese, in India, or in a classroom of children in Seoul, Korea. Each time, place, thing, or person is sacred. And what does the edgelessness of light mean? It means that place where love and light are revealed: a vibrant, gentle, lonely place where the tides of feeling and understanding move in and out with constant illumination and exposure of what is important in the moment before fading, leaving the edgeless shadow of a poem. Writing a poem is my way of blooming, bearing fruit, decaying and returning to that edgelessness of life with a word of praise. I try to share a revelation as I have glimpsed it. When something I have written is felt by you, that for me is a blessing. JAMES McGRATH, poet, visual artist and teacher is known for his narrative poetry in the PBS American Indian Artist Series in the 1970s. He has published poetry in 12 anthologies including "Dakotah Territory," "Passager," "Inside Grief," "In Cabin Six," and "Mercy of Tides," among others. McGrath was poet-artist-in-residence with Arts America in Yemen, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of the Congo in the 1990s and his 50 year retrospective as artist was held at the Meridian Gallery in San Francisco in 2002. He lives in La Cieneguilla, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Best known for her Newbery Medal-winning novel A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle (1918–2007) had a long and successful writing career. Her books enjoyed popular acclaim and she was in constant demand to give speeches, write forewords and advise and encourage younger authors. Yet her work—particularly her adult fiction—has been largely ignored by scholars. This collection of new essays gives overdue critical attention to L’Engle’s complete body of work, from her familiar young adult fiction to her religious writings, poems and short stories.

Combining the African sources and British colonial traditions, this poetry shares its roots with rap and reggae and has the same hold on the popular imagination. It discusses the work of more than thirty poets and performers and gives detailed analyses of the major ones.

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