Compass of Affection: Poems New and Selected (Paraclete Poetry)

Accessible is often the phrase I hear for poetry that is understood without an excessive searching for the meaning of words with the use of a dictionary. The collections of Billy Collins come to mind. Scott Cairns poetry is accessible, though intricate, and laden with both theological and humanist reflection. Cairns manages to offer a wide variety of poetic context. You will often find him asking your questions. I find that Mr. Cairns seems to be a voice from the pinnacle, offering the most eloquent of incites about the meaning of faith,hope, love and life. As a United Methodist pastor of 36 years in ministry, I cherish his voice for its warmth, wisdom, and honesty. For those who feel that religious writing rarely leaves the imprint of mystery, this volume comes highly recommended.

Exquisite, though I like his earlier stuff best.

Scott cairns is a dense but accessible poet on Christian spirituality. This is a broad range of poems and topics in one book that I come back to often.

Bought as a gift

Disclosure: I have known the poet for many years.So, how does one review a collection of poems by a friend; an anthology spanning 21 years, from 1985 to 2006? To put it simply, it's like mining for gold.I found some of these poems hard work, in my case too much work, to fully digest and comprehend. I would've benefited with an introduction, a guide, to explain the subtleties of language and context, but such a guide was not available on these pages.But it was worth mining through these works to find the gold, those pieces that shimmer and shine and are worth every ounce of their weight.The author was one of my guides into the Orthodox Christian faith in the late 1990s. And many of these poems continue to elucidate the richness of this faith, this spirituality, this life that I continue to embrace, more fully, as he does himself.One poem, one that I posted by my desk for many years, is indicative of the spiritual depth found here:Setting OutPilgrim: What is it that you do here?Monk: We fall, and we get up again.In time, even the slowest pilgrim mightarticulate a turn. Given time enough,the slowest pilgrim--even he--mightregister some small measure of belatedprogress. The road was, more or less, lesscompelling than the hut, but as the benefitof time allowed the hut's distractions to attaina vaguely musty scent, and all the novelknickknacks to acquire a fine veneer of bone-white dust, the road became then somewhat moreattractive, and as the weather made a timelyif quite brief concession, the pilgrim took this allto be an open invitation to set out.--Scott CairnsNot all of these poems are about Scott's spiritual pilgrimage. Another poem ("A Prior Despair") that resonated particularly with me was about the loss of love, and his search for finding it again. I guess that's a journey of a different kind, but one that I could relate to.So, if you pick up this volume, be prepared to do some mining. You'll be rewarded for the effort!

I've never read a theology of poetry before, but I have now with "Compass of Affection: Poems New and Selected" by Scott Cairns.Published in 2006, this volume of poems includes several selected from previously published works from 1985 to 2002, and then new poems published in 2006. Together, they constitute a kind of "theology of poetry," or perhaps a poetry of theology.Cairns, professor of English at the University of Missouri, employs poetry to study the teachings of the Bible, the role of tradition, and the life of faith. It is a quiet volume, quiet but full of important things.It's not the first poem selected, but "The Beginning of the World" is a kind of commentary and explication of the Book of Genesis. From that poem, first published in Figures for the Ghost in 1994:"But even before that original issue, first utterance of our Greatsolitary, His self-demarcation of Himself, before even that first birthI suspect an inclination. In God's center, something of a murmur,pre-verbal, pre-phenomenal, perhaps nothing more disturbing to themoment than a silent clearing of the hollowed throat, am approachmerely, but it was a beginning earlier than the one we had supposed,and a willingness for something standing our apart from Him, ifnonetheless His own.""Blessed," published in the volume Philokalia in 2002, is a kind of commentary on the beatitudes in the Gospel of Matthew:"By their very designations, we know the meekare available for all manner of insult,the poor have no effectual recourse againstthe blithe designs of the rich, and that enigmaticcrew we recognize as merciful still refusesto stand up for itself, which makes all of them primeobjects for whatever device the brutes ordain..."Many of the poems are about the idea of life and faith as pilgrimage, yet it is not the idea that "the journey is the point" but more than faith itself is a pilgrimage, often an interior pilgrimage, the growing awareness of God. From "Against Justice" (2006):"Yes, I know the poem is difficult, but far more likely to be readthan any script the habits score. The chore, as I've suggested,lies in tracing any solid thread between the outcomeand its cause, any lead, or leading proposition posedso as to offer what pass for revelation. The Godis hardly just, and we are grateful for His oversight.""Compass of Affection" is a richly splendid introduction to Scott Cairns' poetry and his faith, as well as to the idea of faith itself.

Excellent book of poems delivered in a timely manner.