Ebook110 pages52 minutes
A Perhaps Line: Poetry of the Material and Immaterial Worlds
By Gary D. Swaim and Karla Morton
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
()
About this ebook
While it is impossible to know how or when a unified view of the self and the universe became divided in our Western view of things, Gary D. Swaim's poems contend that our world is not dualistic. Should we look to Saint Paul or Saint Augustine as responsible for the world's heart rift--even occasional heart drift?
More likely, the "fault" lies in our habit of seeing things as either physical or spiritual, material or immaterial, for the comfort of categorizing our ideas and experiences into pockets of thought in hopes of exercising a degree of imagined control over the complexities of life. Although this collection is divided into halves, the line separating these sections is porous, or at least permeable . . . Indeed, A Perhaps Line questions whether that line exists at all, with single words, stanzas, images, and even entire poems moving back and forth between the material and the spiritual. Swaim's poems are rough around their edges from passing back and forth through "a perhaps line," uncertain of their places, arbitrarily placed here or there--all partaking of the material and the spiritual in a collection that merges our divided understanding of ourselves and the universe.
More likely, the "fault" lies in our habit of seeing things as either physical or spiritual, material or immaterial, for the comfort of categorizing our ideas and experiences into pockets of thought in hopes of exercising a degree of imagined control over the complexities of life. Although this collection is divided into halves, the line separating these sections is porous, or at least permeable . . . Indeed, A Perhaps Line questions whether that line exists at all, with single words, stanzas, images, and even entire poems moving back and forth between the material and the spiritual. Swaim's poems are rough around their edges from passing back and forth through "a perhaps line," uncertain of their places, arbitrarily placed here or there--all partaking of the material and the spiritual in a collection that merges our divided understanding of ourselves and the universe.
Author
Gary D. Swaim
Gary D. Swaim is a faculty member in the Master of Liberal Studies Program at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. A Minnie-Stevens Piper Professor of Texas, he has authored chapbooks Rider of Asses and Lighted Matches and is a featured poet in 8 Voices: Contemporary Poetry of the Southwest. He has also written and produced a play based on the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Related to A Perhaps Line
Related ebooks
Voice of the Fish: A Lyric Essay Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEverybody's Vaguely Familiar Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAwakened by Death: Life-Giving Lessons from the Mystics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhen the Parallel Converge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFinal Chapters: A Hospice Social Worker’s Stories of Courage, Heart and Power Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShe of the Mountains Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pushing Shadows: Selected Poems Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWaverly Songs: Poems Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDancing Home Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Perpetual Light : a memorial Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCircling Faith: Southern Women on Spirituality Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Border/Between: A Symphony in Essays Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStill Growing: Poems Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBeyond Me: Poems about Spirit in Scripture, Psychotherapy, and Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Unwritten Book: An Investigation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Speckled Prism Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSide Door to Heaven for Hemingway Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWho's Writing This?: Fifty-five Writers on Humor, Courage, Self-Loathing, and the Creative Process Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDays and Times: Poems from the Liturgy of Living Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBraided [Un]Be-Longing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHoly Faces: 26 Reflections Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFurious Dusk Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5After the Stroke: A Journal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Solemn Pleasure: To Imagine, Witness, and Write Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Man with Six Typewriters: . . . and Others Who Knew God Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWild Women, Wild Voices: Writing from Your Authentic Wildness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Brave of the Dark Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Book of Bliss Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRaven's Echo Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Empty Bowl: Poems of the Holocaust and After Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Christianity For You
The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Your Brain's Not Broken: Strategies for Navigating Your Emotions and Life with ADHD Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Holy Bible (World English Bible, Easy Navigation) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Enoch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bible Recap: A One-Year Guide to Reading and Understanding the Entire Bible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex: Creating a Marriage That's Both Holy and Hot Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth: Fourth Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Don't Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table: It's Time to Win the Battle of Your Mind... Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mere Christianity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Screwtape Letters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Evidence That Demands a Verdict: Life-Changing Truth for a Skeptical World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Lead When You're Not in Charge: Leveraging Influence When You Lack Authority Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries Workbook: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Law of Connection: Lesson 10 from The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wild at Heart Expanded Edition: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Changes That Heal: Four Practical Steps to a Happier, Healthier You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'll Start Again Monday: Break the Cycle of Unhealthy Eating Habits with Lasting Spiritual Satisfaction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Boundaries and Goodbyes: Loving Others Without Losing the Best of Who You Are Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for A Perhaps Line
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
A Perhaps Line - Gary D. Swaim
mOa book_preview_excerpt.html }Xےܶ> Wr[ZծkI*U1ds
P!yO_
3r%yjӧO7|'n7GW9YjMKy}=ܪ7=E8Rח¢|@NJNݏ_t\_W~Ƚ鷨V`~>'eMO;{x+XԞ!|n=([FLx0ՙ#R?XNQ[wmFh/Ш[03yju$$5W`%I:"އY!}~]!Z ݩ=I!S nF
T`v{w*d8v٭y
X3ooI%>9#"wdQHB A3# p&>p
QTLlh7#O{̰DVz2,RdZ,Y&b?`G!Jt` 1yi6|3P\ɂdzX4_}[1 ;