Drew Jackson on Touch the Earth, Poetry as a Lifesaver, and the Importance of Lucille Clifton
Release Date: 08/25/2024
Todd Davis on Ditch Memory
Contemplify
"To read a new and selected collection is to experience the evolution of a voice, in this case an essential voice in American poetry. To sit with the whole of these transportive, immersive poems is to awaken like a wild riparian corridor in spring. Wildflowers on the banks. Birdsong in the branches. The reader’s heart is a bud: open. Beautiful work.” — Chris Dombrowski, The River You Touch Poet Todd Davis's latest collection is . This is Todd’s third time on Contemplify, and like the previous conversations we find our charge in the sacred strides of cultivating attention....
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Sr. Laura Swan, OSB on the Radical Wisdom of the Beguines
Contemplify
"…Swan's book provides an accessible overview of beguine spirituality in the context of their own times…[it] does a good job of explaining both the beguines' spiritual practices and their continuing legacy." — Commonweal Sr. Laura Swan is a Benedictine sister, spiritual director, author, teacher, and archivist. In our conversation we talk about her book . I am fascinated by the Beguine movement as I think it is incredibly instructive for our times. Sr. Laura brings a contagious passion and a catalog of wisdom to the Beguines that I hope seeps into your soul. Can’t wait for you to hear...
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Patrick Boland on Contemplative Leadership
Contemplify
Patrick Boland is an author, teacher, coach, and consultant. In our conversation we talk about his book . Patrick is a whipsmart, strategic thinker with a contemplative heart and presence. Patrick's atypical approach to leadership brings a new vitality to leadership development. Visit Patrick Boland at | IG: | Substack:
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Cynthia Bourgeault on Thomas Keating, Christian Nonduality, and Mystical Maps
Contemplify
is a mystic, teacher, writer, Episcopal priest. In our conversation we talk about her book Thomas Keating: The Making of a Modern Mystic. A book that should not have, but did, surprise me with its brilliance in understanding the route Thomast Keating took on (and off) wellworn mystical maps. And Cynthia has had an outsized impact on my life over the years, yes in her books, but in a word here or there that opened a new direction or portal of insight. Visit Cynthia Bourgeault at
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Intensification of Life (Season 6 Trailer)
Contemplify
“Practice simply is one intensification of what is natural and around us all the time. Practice is to life as poetry is to spoken language. So as poetry is the practice of language, “practice” is the practice of life.” - Gary Snyder SEASON 6 TRAILER
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Peter Traben Haas on Prayer as a Practice of Centering, Abiding, & Radiating
Contemplify
On this last episode of Season Five of Contemplify, we welcome Rev., Dr. Peter Traben Haas. Rev., Dr. Peter Traben Haas rises each morning watching the light shade from dark to dawn and the still silence births words. His aim as a pastor and writer is to deepen spiritual fecundity by exploring biblical wisdom, verse by verse. He is an ordained Teaching Pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and earned a B.A. from Moody Bible, an M.Div. from Princeton Seminary, and a Doctorate of Ministry from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Peter is the author of multiple books and is widely known...
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Backporch Advent Outpost with Hadewijch and the Mother of Love
Contemplify
Backporch Advent Outpost with Hadewijch and the Mother of Love visit
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Katherine May on Enchantment, Building Community, Tasting Words, and a Drink of Lake Water
Contemplify
"I love Katherine May’s new book, Enchantment.… It’s a beautiful offering of light, truth and charm in these strange, dark times." — Anne Lamott Katherine May is an internationally bestselling author and podcaster living in Whitstable, UK. Her most recent book, Enchantment became an instant New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller. Her internationally bestselling hybrid memoir Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times was adapted as BBC Radio 4’s Book of the Week, and was shortlisted for the Porchlight and Barnes and Noble Book of the Year. The Electricity of...
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Andrew Krivak on the Inheritance of Loss, Death as a Character, and Like the Appearance of Horses
Contemplify
"Andrew Krivak is a novelist, poet, and memoirist whose work has been compared to William Faulkner’s in its rich sense of place, to Wendell Berry’s in its attentiveness to natural beauty, and to Cormac McCarthy’s in its deep investigation of violence and myth. Yet all of Krivak’s writing, and especially his fiction, presents a truly singular vision." — Image Journal You might remember on his novel, . In addition to The Bear, Andrew has written a trio of books on a family lineage, beginning with (a National Book Award Finalist), , and . It is this latest book, Like the...
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Remembering Dr. Barbara Holmes (Replay of 2016 Conversation)
Contemplify
"Dr. B was passionate about expanding our understanding of the Christian contemplative tradition, reminding us that contemplation isn’t the sole domain of those who can retreat to quiet places. She understood, from her own life and from the traditions she carried forward, that contemplative practices must also arise in the midst of struggle, in the heart of communities pressed against the weight of history and oppression. She helped us see that the Christian contemplative tradition, too often framed through a narrow, Eurocentric lens, was far richer and more diverse than we had realized....
info_outline"In Touch the Earth, Drew Jackson's poetry offers a word-weary world a new language of engagement, disruption, and insight. As with all great poetry, the words are spare, but the literary images loom large, creating indelible impressions on the reader. Like echoes that reverberate long after the first sound, the poems stay with you, they dance with your spirit. After reading the poem 'Shake the Dust,' I am still considering a much broader definition of power, one no longer confined to the monarchs, governments, and oppressors but with a conscience as sticky as cling wrap that refuses to allow its memories to be shaken loose. This collection is a meditative treasure."
— Barbara Holmes, author of Joy Unspeakable: Contemplative Practices of the Black Church and Crisis Contemplation: Healing the Wounded Village
Drew Jackson is a poet, speaker, and public theologian. He is author of God Speaks Through Wombs: Poems on God’s Unexpected Coming and Touch the Earth: Poems on The Way. His work has been widely published. Drew received his B.A. in Political Science from the Univ. of Chicago and his M.A. in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. He currently works as the Director of Mission Integration for the Center for Action and Contemplation, and lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and daughters.
In our conversation Drew and I talk about the seeds of poetry planted through the lyrical mastery of Nas as well as his immersion into sacred text, why Lucille Clifton’s poetry should explored by all, his mystical lineage and, and much more.
Visit Drew Jackson at drewejackson.com | IG: @d.jacksonpoetics