Doubter's Hymnal

by Laura Cok

In strikingly assured poems of formal and informal grace, Laura Cok's Doubter's Hymnal explores the compelling nature of faith and its loss and the shifting dynamics of family life. Steering clear of sentimentality, Cok has created a mirror in this marvelous debut, in which we can all recognize a little of ourselves.

Genres: Poetry

80 pages, Paperback

Published May 15, 2019

About the author

I'm a writer and editor based in Toronto, Ontario. Originally from Northern California, I spent time in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Waterloo, Ontario before settling in Toronto. I hold an MA in English Literature from the University of Toronto, where I won the E.J. Pratt Poetry Medal and the University of Toronto Magazine alumni poetry contest. I have been previously published widely across Canada and work in corporate communications.

Reviews

[Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laura Cok is a master and this collection proves it. Each poem is created so thoughtfully, each word clearly purposeful and yet they are incredibly accessible poems, filled with lines that take your breath away and turns of phrases that stick like burrs in your brain.

Some of my favourites this read through:

Noah’s Wife
Theology
Against Fate
Needle
Tide Over

But, as I flip through, every one of them feels like a favourite.

Anyway. Enough gushing. So good.

[Brandon Forsyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know the poet, so I may be a bit biased, but there’s beautiful stuff here about family and religion and testimony or confession that brought me back to my experiences with faith, as different as they have been.

[Bianca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my taste: too much talk of religion and God until it gets tedious. She writes about child abuse and incest which are dark subjects. This is not for everyone. There are a few nice poems, notably the first two and the fourth, that paint an interesting, pleasant picture in one’s mind. Perhaps this is more for older folk who’ve been through a lot and feel reassurance reading about these kinds of things? Not extremely poetic and a little rough around the edges, but has potential.

[the.unexpected.reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poetry lovers unite.

Doubter’s Hymnal contains 64 pieces of work that are intense and breath-taking; the informal, free flowing, narrative, structured (and more) are translucently displayed.

Honestly, I don’t know the pain and doubt that has influenced the poems, like everyone else I am only left to imagine it.

Some of her poems make you feel warm as images flutter you into a daydreamy state, while others are so cold, they have the ability to sink your soul into a place that is hard and deep.
I find that it’s always difficult to read the thoughts and memories people have held tightly for so long, and I'm still amazed at their strength to bravely lay it all down - Telekinesis, Same Old Story, He Loves the Trees That Don’t Love Him Back; are just a few of the poems that have possessed me with many emotions.

Thank you, Laura, for courageously laying your heart out for all to read.

[Courtney LeBlanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poems about religion, love, sex, assault, family, and faith.

from Miscarriage: "The secret daughter is murderous. / She who lived in my mother's womb / before me, who made it her graveyard bed. / She is the sacrifice / to my petty god, who demanded / life, blood, a tangle of cord and veins."

from The Piano Teacher: "threatened once to overturn / the whole piano, bench and hammers all. / He's mellowed, now, with age. I'm teaching yet. / My students don't grow old, just cycle through. / Sometimes when they're still mangle Fur Elise / I wish he'd done it. Turned it upside down, / that dying crash like thunderous applause."

[Declan. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the consistency of the writing and the motifs of religion. A perfect exploration of how questioning religion and ideals can lead to personal and social change. I obviously found some poems resonated more with me than others, but some of the poems just felt sprinkled in without relating back a central idea like the rest seemed to do.

Maybe it's my personal vendetta against enjambment, but it was used where I found punctuation could have enhanced a poem.

[James Hawes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful first book, looking forward to more of her writing in the future.