He Held Radical Light

In this moving meditation, celebrated poet Christian Wiman explores the profound relationships between art, faith, and the eternal
What is it we want when we can't stop wanting? And how do we make that hunger productive and vital rather than corrosive and destructive? These are the questions that animate Christian Wiman as he delves into the complex interplay of art, faith, death, and memory. Above all, He Held Radical Light is a love letter to poetry, filled with moving, surprising, and sometimes funny encounters with the poets Wiman has known. Seamus Heaney opens a suddenly intimate conversation about faith; Mary Oliver puts half of a dead pigeon in her pocket; A. R. Ammons stands up in front of an audience and refuses to read. Urgent and intense, yet lively and entertaining, this essay collection is a sharp sequel to Wiman's earlier memoir, My Bright Abyss - a must-read for anyone interested in the power of language to illuminate the ineffable.