Gerard Manley Hopkins

It's uncanny how often great genius and artistry are borne out of lives that are much too short, and often filled with trouble or turmoil of various kinds. I think of Mozart, for instance, and Chopin, and now must add the spiritually powerful poet Gerard Manley Hopkins. An Englishman who paid a grea......more

I'm grateful for any opportunity I have to learn an artist through his life story. There are drawbacks, of course. Sometimes it's hard to look a hero in the proverbial eye through their letters and journal entries. It's hard to hear the doubt, insecurity, and suffering of the people who've introduce......more

This book handily wraps everything to do with Gerard Manley Hopkins into 250 pages: his complete oeuvre of 49 poems, his biography, letters, journals, spiritual writings, and a sprinkling of sermons, as well as fine critical commentary by Ms. Ellsberg. A minor quibble: the book proposes Hopkins as a......more

One story from these poems, letters, journals and sermons stands out to me. Six months before ordination, in a practice sermon before fellow Jesuits, Gerard Manley Hopkins preached the Loaves and Fishes Gospel story. In a literary and poetic effort, Hopkins repeated Christ's command "Make the men si......more

A collection of Hopkins poetry, journal entries, sermons and reflections, with short biographical chapters. The Introduction is by Dana Gioia. The poetry stands out, and the short chapters and introductory material very good.......more