Overview

Learning about the ancient Jewish tradition of midrash, a rabbinic form of textual interpretation that seeks and imagines answers to unanswerable questions, felt to Amy Bornman like a poetic invitation to re-engage with the Bible in a new way. There is a Future: A Year of Daily Midrash – an award-winner in the Paraclete Poetry Prize competition – grew from a yearlong project to read the Bible daily, and write daily midrashic poems in response to the readings—to honor the text by wondering about, and struggling with, it. By engaging particular passages of scripture across the Old and New Testaments directly, these poems imagine new dimensions of the text, and make vivid connections to the world as it is now and to the author’s own life—emerging at year’s end with new hope in a future that at times feels impossible, as the days pile on days and the text’s enduring questions continue to ring.

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9781640606135

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Reviews

For those of us who have a stultifying familiarity with the oft-told stories of Jesus, these poems are a splash of cold water on the face to wake us up and shock us anew. I will return to There is a Future again and again. --Tish Harrison Warren, Anglican priest, author of Liturgy of the Ordinary There is a Future is a book for anyone who's ever read the Bible with delight or boredom or fear or curiosity. Bornman's understanding of God is irresistibly expansive, and her poetry creates a spacious place for asking big questions and reveling in small glories. More than anything, these poems are an invitation to wonder at God and with God. They will change the way you experience the Bible. --Whitney Bauck, climate, fashion, and religion reporter For Amy Bornman, the Bible came alive as she began to read it as midrash, meditating on the narratives and images of Scripture until they began to refresh her soul in such a deep and compelling way that she was challenged to write her own lovely, muscular poems. Entering each of these is like opening a window onto a vivid and compelling landscape. Read them, and maybe you'll be challenged to write your own midrash. --Luci Shaw, poet and author of Eye of the Beholder and The Generosity

For those of us who have a stultifying familiarity with the oft-told stories of Jesus, these poems are a splash of cold water on the face to wake us up and shock us anew. I will return to There is a Future again and again. -Tish Harrison Warren, Anglican priest, author of Liturgy of the Ordinary There is a Future is a book for anyone who's ever read the Bible with delight or boredom or fear or curiosity. Bornman's understanding of God is irresistibly expansive, and her poetry creates a spacious place for asking big questions and reveling in small glories. More than anything, these poems are an invitation to wonder at God and with God. They will change the way you experience the Bible. -Whitney Bauck, climate, fashion, and religion reporter For Amy Bornman, the Bible came alive as she began to read it as midrash, meditating on the narratives and images of Scripture until they began to refresh her soul in such a deep and compelling way that she was challenged to write her own lovely, muscular poems. Entering each of these is like opening a window onto a vivid and compelling landscape. Read them, and maybe you'll be challenged to write your own midrash. -Luci Shaw, poet and author of Eye of the Beholder and The Generosity

“For those of us who have a stultifying familiarity with the oft-told stories of Jesus, these poems are a splash of cold water on the face to wake us up and shock us anew. I will return to There is a Future again and again.” —Tish Harrison Warren, Anglican priest, author of Liturgy of the Ordinary    “There is a Future is a book for anyone who’s ever read the Bible with delight or boredom or fear or curiosity. Bornman’s understanding of God is irresistibly expansive, and her poetry creates a spacious place for asking big questions and reveling in small glories. More than anything, these poems are an invitation to wonder at God and with God. They will change the way you experience the Bible.” —Whitney Bauck, climate, fashion, and religion reporter   “For Amy Bornman, the Bible came alive as she began to read it as midrash, meditating on the narratives and images of Scripture until they began to refresh her soul in such a deep and compelling way that she was challenged to write her own lovely, muscular poems. Entering each of these is like opening a window onto a vivid and compelling landscape. Read them, and maybe you’ll be challenged to write your own midrash.” —Luci Shaw, poet and author of Eye of the Beholder and The Generosity   

Author Information

Amy Bornman is a writer, artist, and designer, living in Pittsburgh. She studied theater at Wheaton College (IL), and designs sewing patterns for her small business, All Well Workshop. You can find more from Amy at amybornman.com.   

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