Contemporary Catholic Poetry: An Anthology - Paperback

by April Lindner (Editor), Ryan Wilson (Editor)

2024 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year FINALIST

"...wonder shows up in these poets' work again and again." - America Magazine

A Landmark Anthology of Contemporary Catholic Poetry
A treasury of vibrant beauty and thought-provoking verse, this anthology is an essential addition to the library of any poetry lover or anyone seeking to explore the intersection of faith and art.

This path-breaking collection brings together the work of 23 notable Catholic poets born after 1950, including Julia Alvarez, Carolyn Forché, Timothy Murphy, and Franz Wright. Edited by Ryan Wilson and April Lindner, this anthology celebrates the depth and diversity of the Catholic imagination, highlighting "the myriad ways the Church has left its mark on the imaginations of these notable contemporary poets."

From personal reflections to explorations of faith, nature, life, and lament, these poems span a wide range of themes, styles, and forms, offering readers a rich tapestry of spiritual and creative expression. Whether capturing moments of beauty, wrestling with doubt, or addressing the complexities of modern life, this collection reveals the enduring influence of the Church on the poetic tradition.

"Above all, poems remember. Each poem is, on a fundamental level, an act of remembrance, a kind of handprint pressed against the wall of Time."--from the Preface of Contemporary Catholic Poetry

Author Biography

April Lindner is a professor at Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia's Jesuit university, and the author of three young adult novels: Love, Lucy, a retelling of A Room With a View; Catherine, a contemporary retelling of Wuthering Heights; and Jane, a retelling of Jane Eyre, all published by Poppy/Little, Brown Young Reader. Her digital-only novella, Far From Over, was published by NOVL.

She is also a poet, with two collections in print: This Bed Our Bodies Shaped, from Able Muse Press, and Skin, winner of the Walt McDonald First Book Prize from Texas Tech University Press. She writes literary criticism and edits poetry anthologies. The mother of two adult sons, Lindner lives in Havertown, Pennsylvania with her husband, pet chickens, and three rescued pups--Nico, Lily, and Miles.

Ryan Wilson was born in Griffin, Georgia, in 1982, and raised in nearby Macon. His books include The Stranger World (Measure, 2017)-- winner of the Donald Justice Poetry Prize -- How to Think Like a Poet (Wiseblood, 2019), and Proteus Bound: Selected Translations 2008-20 (Franciscan UP, 2021) and most recently, In Ghostlight (LSU, 2024). His work appears in periodicals such as Best American Poetry, Birmingham Poetry Review, First Things, Five Points, The Hopkins Review, The New Criterion, The Sewanee Review, and Yale Review. He is Editor-in-Chief of Literary Matters (literarymatters.org), and he teaches at The Catholic University of America and in the M.F.A. program at the University of St. Thomas--Houston.