In his 2021 apostolic letter “Candor Lucis Aeternae,” Pope Francis urges those looking for a different voice in response to our current situation to read, hear and imitate Dante, “to become his companions.” One excellent response to the pope’s call is “100 Days of Dante,” a web-accessible resource from Baylor University’s Honors College Read more Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Poetry’
Reflections on cancer diagnosis: “Michael I thought you were dead”
Monday, November 11th, 2019
Dealing with a cancer diagnosis was the catalyst for a new book of poems from Wellington poet and publisher Michael Fitzsimons, with the title of Michael I thought you were dead. “Michael I thought you were dead is an honest and searching account of what it feels like to confront one’s mortality and find spiritual Read more
Poet remembers Passchendaele
Monday, October 9th, 2017
Poet Kevin Ireland has penned a new work in time for the 100th anniversary of the battle of Passchendaele, a poem two years in the making since his visit to Belgium in 2015. It has been published for the first time on Newsroom. On returning from his visit, Ireland tried to write but he was Read more
Why Gerard Manley Hopkins gave up poetry for Lent
Monday, April 3rd, 2017Why did the English poet, Catholic convert, and Jesuit priest Gerard Manley Hopkins decide to give up poetry for Lent? On January 18, 1866, he composed his poem “The Habit of Perfection,” which hailed the virtue of asceticism. Five days later, on January 23, he included poetry in a list of things he planned to Read more
Friend’s cancer sparks poems
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2015
Michael Fitzsimons, a former editor of Zealandia Catholic Newspaper, is a director of Wellington-based communications and publishing company, FitzBeck Creative. He has written a number of books, including the Wellington Book and the NZ Book, but this is his first book of poems. The collection, called Now You Know, includes poems by Michael Fitzsimons and Read more