Overview

Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889) is widely regarded as one of the greatest poets of the English language. A Jesuit priest known for his sophisticated but innovative style, Hopkins wrote poetry that expressed the full range of emotional and spiritual experience, taking readers through trials and triumphs before coming to a place of deep resignation in God. As Kingfishers Catch Fire: Selected and Annotated Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins offers thirty-seven of this Victorian poet's greatest works with detailed, line-by-line annotations by Dr. Holly Ordway that provide valuable literary and cultural references, illuminate Hopkins' word choice, and help readers unpack his complex sentence structure. Featuring classics like ""The Windhover"" and ""God's Grandeur"" but also various lesser-known poems, it is perfect for the seasoned poet and the first-time reader alike, acquainting them with this brilliant mind of the Catholic tradition.

Full Product Details

9781685780234

Table of Contents

Reviews

"""A deeply insightful and highly readable introduction to the poetry of one of our foremost Catholic poets, Gerard Manley Hopkins. Follow Holly Ordway's advice: read the poems (aloud), read her brilliant annotations, and let them settle into your mind and heart. I've been reading and teaching Hopkins now for sixty years, and still I found so much that was refreshing and spiritually new and vital in these pages.""--Paul Mariani ""If modern Christian poetry has a saint, it is Gerard Manley Hopkins. No other poet, at least in English, occupies such a lofty position in terms of both literary achievement and spiritual authority. His reputation transcends questions of purely literary merit. He is a figure of sanctity, redemptive suffering, and heroic virtue.""--Dana Gioia ""This anthology of poems by Gerard Manley Hopkins offers readers a guide that is both impressively comprehensive yet also meditative, contemplative. It shows how Hopkins' careful attention to nature became a form of prayer, the outworking of a Jesuit spirituality that discerns in the wonders and mysteries of the cosmos signs of its Creator. Holly Ordway has offered us a remarkably cogent introduction to, and guide through, Hopkins' work, reminding us that writing (and reading) poetry can be an act of hope, a work of love, a profession of faith.""--Rebekah Lamb"

Author Information

Holly Ordway is the Cardinal Francis George Fellow of Faith and Culture at the Word on Fire Institute and Visiting Professor of Apologetics at Houston Christian University. She holds a PhD in English from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and is the author of Tolkien's Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages (Word on Fire Academic, 2021). Her other books include Tales of Faith: A Guide to Sharing the Gospel through Literature (Word on Fire Institute, 2022) and Apologetics and the Christian Imagination: An Integrated Approach to Defending the Faith (Emmaus Road, 2017). She is also a Subject Editor for the Journal of Inklings Studies and a published poet.

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