The Gospel of the Bleeding Woman

by Katie Manning

The Gospel of the Bleeding Woman imagines a life for an interesting, unnamed biblical the bleeding woman who touches Jesus in three of the gospel accounts. The first half of this poetry collection is biblical/historical fiction; the second half, after the healing touch, moves into the realm of speculative fantasy (because faith is a strange, strange thing).

Genres: Poetry

48 pages, Hardcover

First published May 28, 2013

About the author

Katie Manning is the founding editor-in-chief of Whale Road Review and a professor of writing at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. She is the author of Tasty Other, which won the 2016 Main Street Rag Poetry Book Award, and her sixth chapbook, How to Play, is now available from Louisiana Literature Press. Her poems have appeared in American Journal of Nursing, december, The Lascaux Review, New Letters, Poet Lore, Thimble, Verse Daily, and many other venues.

Reviews

[J Douglas]

I have to admit I am wary of 95% of the spiritual or religious literature I have put my hands on lately - which is just one of the reasons I found reading Manning's The Gospel of The Bleeding Woman to be a welcomed respite from the gross generalizations about religion and cheap spiritual pablum in this kind of literature.

Manning’s style is succinct and clear and she avoids temptations to sound erudite, overly academic, or a mystical like a guru as she crafts her verse to fill in a lot of unknowns about this story, the story of the "bleeding woman" who famously reached through a crowd to touch the hem of Jesus' garnet and was healed.

Manning takes liberties but does no violence to this oft overlooked story which I think is one of the most illuminating stories for understanding Mark's Gospel and his vision of Jesus' reign and ministry.

Her words are a woman's words and extend the story in a way that is critical patriarchy without pausing to stamp "Feminist reading of Bible” on her poems (which has its place to be sure, but this is as refreshing as it is subversive). In other words, she shows more than she tells and that is why these simple beautiful verses can really pack a punch while shaping how one reads these Gospel passages afterwards.

Manning isn't posturing to make a point or trying to demonstrate something about her own ability as a writer. She elegantly unpacks an important story in a way that undoes years of bad interpretations without once making you think of the word, "exegesis.” This alone makes the book worth reading.

Manning paints a beautiful and compelling picture of the Christian faith, that helps explain why some people still dive deep into that tradition while others fill their shelves with spiritual trinkets that resembles a souvenir spoons or snow globes collection.

Let's hope Manning finds another compelling story to dwell with for future writings. The current world is better off because she wrote this.

[Marianne Mersereau]

I have a special affinity for books that flesh out the stories of unnamed women who appear in biblical stories, and Manning's collection of poems giving voice to the woman who was healed by touching the hem of Jesus' robe is one of the best I've read. "Some of us answered to Hey You" she writes in one poem, "and had no existence outside stories." Manning successfully employs her creativity, imaginative powers and poetic skills to fill in many of the missing blanks in this amazing Gospel story.

[Karen]

In her first chapbook, Manning imagines the life of a minor Biblical character, the bleeding woman who is healed by Jesus. Divided in half, the book details the woman’s life before her cure and then in the second half, moves into more contemporary times, exploring the intersections of faith and spirituality.

[Sarah]

A quiet but profound exploration of one of the most fascinating unnamed women in the New Testament. This will take an honoured place on my shelf along with similar favourites, Leila Chatti's Deluge and Marie Howe's Magdalene.

[Claudiu]

“the flesh made word” is really something

[Christina]

I wept while reading this book. I am grateful to own it.

[Susan]

I devoured this book...It was magnificent! So beautiful and moving and food for thought. Bravo!!