Seeing the World Through Flannery's Heart and Soul: A Review of "Andalusian Hours: Poems from the Porch of Flannery O'Connor" by Angela Alaimo O'Donnell

Book Review, Creators & Cultivators, Published EssaysTamara Hill MurphyJuly 31, 2020book reviews, poetry, flannery, Englewood Review of Books

I thirst: Brett Alan Dewing [Retrieve Lament]

It is OK to cry out to Him in my loneliness, in my frustrated sexual being, in my uncertainty, to mourn the life He called me out of, even if I find myself desiring it once more. It is OK to weep for the loss of a broken life. We must, in fact, let go of every “if” or “might have been” to truly follow Him without reservation. Let them float away like balloons, in an array of tears, offerings to Him that set us on the good path. He knows what we gave (give) up, and He can take the tears of pain and anger as we grieve our vinegar thirsts.

Welcoming Christ Again, and Again - A Conversation with Luci Shaw

Welcoming Christ Again, and Again

A Conversation with Luci Shaw

Interviewed by Tamara Hill Murphy for Englewood Review of Books, Advent 2017 print issue

I read Luci Shaw’s prose before I ever knew about her poetry. The anthology, The Christian Imagination: The Practice of Faith in Literature and Writing (edited by Leland Ryken), included her essay, “Beauty and the Creative Impulse,” that taught me about the mutuality of art and faith. Throughout the more than 30 books of prose and poetry she’s written, Luci Shaw’s words reflect a Damascus-sized jolt that awakens readers again and again to the tandem beauty of body and spirit, heaven and earth. It was an honor to interview Ms. Shaw for this Advent issue.

Book Review, Creators & CultivatorsTamara Hill MurphyDecember 27, 2017poetry, luci shaw

Falling for fall in 7 quick takes

Best of... listsTamara Hill MurphySeptember 23, 2017lists, playlist, photo diaries, books, Autumn Daybook, autumn, 7 quick takes, illustrations, poetry

For two of the most important men in my life

WritingTamara Hill MurphyJune 18, 2017Brian, Dad, Father's Day, poetry, writing

Practice Resurrection 2017: send me your photos and captions!

Eastertide, Resurrection StoriesTamara Hill MurphyMay 1, 2017Practice Resurrection 2017, Eastertide 2017, photo stories, guest post, n.t. wright, wendell berry, poetry, celebration

Retrieve Lament: Rachel Spies' mourning story

The past five years I have lived in Lent. The church calendar has ticked by but I have stayed here in the barren place, the dark place where hope is for others and resurrection is a belief but not tangible. It’s one of those long stories, too long certainly for this space, with long emotions and long components, but familiar too – grief, hurt, expectations not met, illness, grief, uncertainty, abuse, adoption, mental illness, destruction. Many families enter into these lands, and many families fall apart. We did. Some families are able to weather the storm. We couldn’t.