Thomas Gardner artistically describes Jesus—"the Word made flesh"—as a poem penned by God for the world, and John—author of the Fourth Gospel—as the poem's interpreter. John's structural patterns, repetitions, and narrative interventions invite readers to experience for themselves the beauty of the divine poem. John in the Company of Poets deepens this invitation by re-imagining the biblical text through the eyes of such artists as Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Wendell Berry, and T. S. Eliot, offering a literary reading of the Gospel based upon their powerful poetic replies. Poets are our best readers, contends Gardner, and his deft analysis forges a fresh path into the issues and tensions of John's Gospel.
Thomas Gardner is Alumni Distinguished Professor of English at Virginia Tech. He is the author of, among other works, A Door Ajar: Contemporary Writers and Emily Dickinson; Jorie Graham: Essays on the Poetry; and Regions of Unlikeness: Explaining Contemporary Poetry. He lives in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Table of Contents
Poems Examined Introduction
1 Prologue (John 1:1-18) 2 Come and See (John 1:19-51) 3 Life (John 2:1-4:54) 4 Blinded (John 5:1-10:42) 5 Glory (John 11:1-12:50) 6 Looking Forward (John 13:1-17:26) 7 Seen (John 18:1-20:31) 8 Epilogue (John 21:1-25)
