The Book of Crooked Prayer

by Marcella Remund

A book of poems about the sacred in everyday life, imagined lives of saints, and the lives and relationships of women.

96 pages, Paperback

Published June 20, 2020

Reviews

[Ry Guy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of beautiful works by a wonderful Midwestern poet with a truly special gift for emotive and captivating writing. These poems contain a timeless depth that melds the spiritual with the sentimental, and hard realism with the mystical. A very special book.

[Andrew Hinwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mala is a poem that calls the reader to open themselves to an embodied inclusivity of Love. Other poems resonate with a poignant understanding of the beauty of life; the author's own life, that of the land , and of the Divine. A delight to read and reread.

[Bj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and thought provoking poetry.

[Serena]

I am one of those prairie children who scattered, like milkweed seeds, long ago into winds that took me far away. I live in British Columbia, a world away from a place I could not wait to leave in my adolescence.
And now, I return every year. I hold my mom's hand, go for walks with my sister, rest my eyes on the vast landscapes and the sky that goes on and on, unobstructed by mountains or buildings. A few weeks ago, at my sister's house, I discovered Marcella's book of luminous poetry.
Before I left, I had moments where I almost grasped the beauty of prairie women's work; the way a jar of plum jelly can absolutely transcend the backdrop of poverty and hard judgements and dry, dusty winds and cinched-in, denied sexuality. I almost percieved it, but turned away lest it tempt me from the project of escape.
And now, here it is. Remund's poetry moves me deeply, re-membering to me the strength of women's work, women's love, women's bodies, and always the land. She drops her bucket into a well of something that lies underneath the red-state ugliness, and brings up living water. Thirst-quenching, restoring, pure.
I adore this book. It is for savoring, slowly, with blackberry wine or perhaps a local gin. Or tea will do, of course. It's the words I needed.

[Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of tightly woven poems span so richly the human experience, each one like a new chapter, each one an intricate tale written in a language both accessible and mystical. Unlike many poetry books I read, Redmund's "The Book of Crooked Prayer" is to be savored and not binged. I found myself slowing down my reading to take in her remarkable use of language and description, and it was so worth it. This is what good poetry does -- it demands we notice. I highly recommend.

[Cynthia · Rating 2 out of 5]

prob 2.5 stars is most accurate. Some poems I understood better than others......