Giving, the 2019 Gold Medal Illumination award winner for poetry, is Ginny Emery’s poetic witness to searching for God and her delight in finding Him. Emery’s collection of 21st century psalms range from bitter to sweet; they include prayer, lament, praise and worship, sharp commentary on current affairs, metaphysical reflections, prophetic insights and unexpected humor. Her work is hard to pin down— it is full of contrasts some poems are abstract, others concrete; some objective, others not; some tightly formed and others looser blank verse. Her chapter themes are: The Cross and Sacrifice, Jesus’ Eyes, Seeking, Truth, These Latter Days, Fulfillment, and Praise and Worship. This unusual personal collection includes something for almost everyone.
Many of Emery’s poems are prayer-like, referencing scripture and employing hymnal structure, yet some present metaphors that stretch beyond tradition, including “Spring,” in which the speaker sniffs newly bloomed “hyacinth and crocus” and reflects on her faith: “… I wonder, // will He breathe in breath of me, // and smile to sense sweet savors of His Son? // And might my prayers ascend // as incense, pleasing in His lungs?” Rather than hoping God merely hears her prayers, the speaker allows for a sensory expansion of God that implies a relationship beyond verbal exchange, grounded in breath.
The uniting force of this collection is joy for the fulfillment and peace the speaker receives from her faith in God’s love, making it accessible for a wide range of readers. Emery builds the collection on a foundation of celebration, though a handful of poems express views that may polarize some readers, including “Prostitution,” where Emery writes “Whenever—whether out of greed or need— // self seeks self to sell, // self turns self toward facing hell.” Above all, Emery seeks to share her “life-long journey into joy with my loving Father”: “His burning coals transform our minds, // with warming love He realigns.”
Takeaway: Devotional poems celebrating the Christian faith.
Comparable Titles: K.J. Ramsey’s The Book of Common Courage, Morgan Harper Nichols’s All Along You Were Blooming.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
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Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
GIVING is a book that will draw you into the intimacy of knowing God, understanding the work of the cross and what it means to walk in union with God, who created us to know Him.
