The Selected Poetry of Jessica Powers Paperback – November 2, 1999

This is a book of poetry -- one to read and I am doing that! It is good poetry and I am exploring the writing of a poet I previously had not read.

Being retired with a shortage of space for more printed books, I am thrilled to have this newer (Kindle edition) of my older, much read paperback copy (with fewer of her poems).Jessica Powers is a true Mystic. I have read and reread her poems so many times, since first I purchased my paperback copy - an older and shorter edition than the one here.I am a layperson. Not a nun. A retired clinical psychologist. Long on the spiritual path. Reduced, as Jessica Powers writes in her opening poem to this collection: to nothingness. The Nothing from which (occasionally) opens a hidden, inexpressible, inexhaustible "awareness" of which she speaks so movingly.These poems grow on you. Some, more than others. But they beckon you onwards. They hint. They promise. They warn. They welcome. They bewilder. They know. They are the mark of a mystic with a poetic gift.I feel blessed to live not far from where she lived and prayed. Though I have never been there. But the ground upon which she lived is Holy Ground.If her poetry moves you, try Ruth Burrows and also Jean Marie Howe. Two other modern Mystics who are women, though not poets. Plus Sister Wendy, good friend of Ruth Burrows. And who knows? Maybe Jessica Powers as well.You cannot go wrong with all 4 of these women contemplative writers! (And when it comes to the spiritual path, it is vital to be very careful, whose wisdom you read.)

I have printed off the computer some of Jessica Powers poems but receiving the book made it seem even more beautiful, spontaneous, and enlightening even more than what I had read of her poetry on the computer. Such a lovely, poetic collection in this printing of her work.

Jessica Powers (also known as Sister Miriam, a Roman Catholic cloistered Carmlite nun), deserves a high place among poets of the 20th century. Her scots/Irish roots and approach to poetry as well as her Carmelite spirituality make her poems a mystical wondrous experience. In the words of the English poet, Kathleen Raine, she too seeks the "bright mountain behind the mountain." Nature poetry at its best, sample this poet. You will not regret it. My favorite line from all her poems: Who knows where we go when we listen to Gaelic music and we are left a little while alone.

The book arrived in a timely manner; it was in very good condition.Powers' poems are great to meditate on. I like her style and themes.I haven't completed the reading but like to take just one at a time and ponder it.I don't think good poetry should be consumed all at once but taken in small morsels and savored.

Absolutely love it. Many of the poems speak to me immediately, some others take a while!I have recommended it to several friends because it is so thought inspiring for meditative prayers.Thank you dear Sister Miriam. You are a real God-gift, even after your Going Home.

Beautiful spiritual poetry using images and experiences of the natural world to point to the supernatural. This is poetry that leads to meditation.

These poems are prayers and paeans, very human and sublime. Jessica Powers' profound relationship with God shines through the images and sound she employs in her poems, including the questions she raises inside them.

What a special book of poetry. It is a spiritual gift of such depth and wonderful image. I love her words.