Spring: A Spiritual Biography of the Season

by Gary D. Schmidt (Editor), Susan M. Felch

As winter's austere power begins to fade, we notice the first signs of vigor and life returning to the world: delicate crocuses pushing through the damp earth; frogs croaking in the barely thawed ponds; the year's first warm breeze on our faces.
These first sure signs of spring bolster our spirits and remind us of the eternal cycle of death and rebirth, and also--more poignantly--of the steady march of time and our own advancing years. With each successive spring, it seems, we cherish the promise of renewed life more and more.
These thoughtfully chosen writings, poems and meditations--from Robert Frost, Lisa Couturier, William Blake and Lady Sarashina to the eighth-century Chinese poet Tu Fu and many others--both celebrate spring's re-emergence of life and evoke the season's delicate balance of growth and decay, youth and maturity, innocence and experience.

Genres: Nature, Poetry, Essays, Nonfiction

326 pages, Paperback

First published February 16, 2006

About the author

Gary D. Schmidt is an American children's writer of nonfiction books and young adult novels, including two Newbery Honor books. He lives on a farm in Alto, Michigan,with his wife and six children, where he splits wood, plants gardens, writes, feeds the wild cats that drop by and wishes that sometimes the sea breeze came that far inland. He is a Professor of English at Calvin College.

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little heavy on lists of blooming flowers, but 100% worth it for Jane Kenyon's essay "Mud Season." I also loved the humor in Noel Perrin's "Flow Gently, Sweet Maple" and Donald Hall's "Spring" and the theology and intensity of Abiel Abbot's Sermons to Mariners.

Other standouts that I might like to read more of:
Annie Dillard
Barbara Kingsolver
David Brill (As Far as the Eye Can See: Reflections of an Appalachian Trail Hiker)
Abram Van Engen

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

With each section beginning with a Shaker's hymn, this was a pleasure to read...although I read it over a few springtimes. Excerpts from many poets and other writers are included in the volume, including Jane Kenyon and Donald Hall, and the five different sections explore spring as a season from its hopeful beginnings with mud and rain and the smell of the season, to what we call "ideal spring days". My favorite of this series is still the Winter entry, but this book was lovely.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of a four-book series with lovely illustrations and selections that will help you live in the moment of spring. One to return to year after year.

[Dawn Meyers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book~ a wide ranging collection of excerpts, poems and essays celebrating Spring. Everyone from Annie Dillard, Robert Frost, and a wide range of other authors.

[Your Common House Bat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a nice collection; got quite a few book added to my 'to read' shelf from this one. If you're looking for something to read going into spring this is a wonderful one unless you're opposed to some religious aspects here and there. It's a nice collection of both poems and essays.

[Nancy Brady]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11379312