Poetry and Religion

Is religious poetry dead? To find out come to the launch of The Poet’s Quest for God – 21st Century Poems of Faith, Doubt and Wonder in St Albans on Saturday December 3.
The anthology contains 300 poems from all over the English-speaking world and as the title implies, many are written by non-believers. Some are about the absence of God – or definitions of human value which could apply to any faith.
The event at Waterstones starting at 7.30 pm will be hosted by be the Canadian poet, editor and publisher Todd Swift, who once wrote a poem for Leonard Cohen and will pay a tribute to him. He is an internationalist whose work has been translated into many languages. He will be joined by Barbara Marsh who won last year’s £5,000 Troubadour International poetry prize.
Another distinguished reader is Hilary Davies. She has won an Eric Gregory award, first prize in the Cheltenham Literature Festival and was chair of the Poetry Society.
Tim Dooley’s first collection The Interrupted Dream was published by Anvil. His two smaller collections, The Secret Ministry and Tenderness, both won the Poetry Business pamphlet competition.
Other readers will include the British-Peruvian Oliver Jones, author of Donald Trump: The Rhetoric, and Helen Lovelock-Burke, who has had 15 poems displayed on London buses.

Simon Bowden of Ver Poets says: “We would love people of any or no faith to come and read a short poem on the theme of religion – and listen to the authors. It is a great occasion when we get so many award-winning writers in St Albans on a single night.
“This is a free event – but we hope people may be inspired to buy a book or two.”
The doors at Waterstones open at 7 pm and refreshments will be available..