The book is a gathering together of all of Kenneth Steven's poems concerning the island of Iona through the years. These comprise poems that have been published in journals both at home and abroad, and broadcast on BBC Radio. A lengthy introduction tells the story of the forging of those first links with Iona, and those that have come through adult years. This is a book both for those who know and love the island, and for those who may yearn to visit but have not yet had the chance. It's essentially a love song to a precious and an extraordinary place that has been the author's spiritual home from earliest childhood days.
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"The Iona Community that grew out of the rebuilding of Iona Abbey in the 1930s, under the leadership of the extraordinary George MacLeod, sought to embody something of the core of Celtic Christian thinking." #Iona by Kenneth Steven https://www.plough.com/en/topics/community/church-community/celtic-christianity-on-iona
🐦 She/They. Inner Hebrides Scotland. Lost Kiwi. Poet. Gàidhlig learner. Tolkien nerd. @Readwyrm. 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈 Trans ally
Starting a new🧵: #PoetryPilgrimage. Thank you @RobertAllenPoet for the idea. I'm going on a pilgrimage through my own poetry shelves, reading 2 from each collection. Starting with the top left - fittingly, it's Kenneth Steven's Iona (I was there 3 days ago). The Well Greatness https://t.co/I17SlUYjTn
"A pulse of something rare, quiet, and holy beats in the heart of these poems--call it the seasons turning in his beloved Scotland, call it a lyrical voice addressing and blessing this poet's beloved recognition of the gifts of this earth, which he gives back so generously to us. In "Stopping To See" he tells us "You are blown out, /have gone beyond all clocks and watches/ink a place where only being matters." And, indeed, these poems touch and dwell in the sacredness of pure presence, which is a miraculous and even deeper gift that puts us in touch with eternity. Only by books like this is our humanity fully revealed and redeemed." --Robert D. Vivian, author of Cold Snap As Yearning and The Least Cricket Of Evening and Professor of English, Alma College
Previous Praise for Kenneth Steven
"Enjoying Kenneth Steven's work intensely--style and subject." --Ted Hughes