Each essay in this Companion examines one or more literary texts and a religious tradition to illustrate how we can understand both literature and religion better by looking at them in tandem. Unlike most literature and religion books, which tend to focus on Christianity and take a highly theoretical approach inappropriate for non-specialists, The Cambridge Companion to Literature and Religion offers an accessible treatment of both Dharmic and Abrahamic traditions. It provides close readings of texts rather than surveys of large topics, making it an ideal resource for undergraduate and graduate students of literature and religion.

Explore the gentle unfurling of spring and reflect on how nature celebrates birth and renewal—in this collection of reflections by our greatest writers. As winter's austere power begins to fade, we notice the first signs of vigor and life returning to the world: delicate crocuses pushing through the damp earth; frogs croaking in the barely thawed ponds; the year's first warm breeze on our faces. These first sure signs of spring bolster our spirits and remind us of the eternal cycle of death and rebirth, and also—more poignantly—of the steady march of time and our own advancing years. With each successive spring, it seems, we cherish the promise of renewed life more and more. These thoughtfully chosen writings, poems and meditations—from Robert Frost, Lisa Couturier, William Blake and Lady Sarashina to the eighth-century Chinese poet Tu Fu and many others—both celebrate spring's re-emergence of life and evoke the season's delicate balance of growth and decay, youth and maturity, innocence and experience.

Explore the gentle unfurling of spring and reflect on how nature celebrates birth and renewal—in this collection of reflections by our greatest writers. As winter's austere power begins to fade, we notice the first signs of vigor and life returning to the world: delicate crocuses pushing through the damp earth; frogs croaking in the barely thawed ponds; the year's first warm breeze on our faces. These first sure signs of spring bolster our spirits and remind us of the eternal cycle of death and rebirth, and also—more poignantly—of the steady march of time and our own advancing years. With each successive spring, it seems, we cherish the promise of renewed life more and more. These thoughtfully chosen writings, poems and meditations—from Robert Frost, Lisa Couturier, William Blake and Lady Sarashina to the eighth-century Chinese poet Tu Fu and many others—both celebrate spring's re-emergence of life and evoke the season's delicate balance of growth and decay, youth and maturity, innocence and experience.

Explore the rich vibrancy of summer and reflect on how nature teaches us to value time—in this collection of reflections by our greatest writers. A season of both growth and of stillness, of hard work in the garden and of relaxing in the cool of the mountains, summer is a celebratory time. Every day matters, says summer. Look around you. Life is starting up again after a long winter and spring, and we find ourselves in a world filled with creatures and plants and shimmers of heat on the subway, with backyard cookouts and ice cream trucks jingling through the neighborhood. This collection of powerful, stirring pieces from a wealth of sources—ranging from poems composed in eighth-century China to letters from a pioneer woman in the American West, from the Declaration of Independence to Ray Bradbury’s musings on childhood summers—invites us all to fully experience the rich and bountiful spirituality of summer.

Explore the rich vibrancy of summer and reflect on how nature teaches us to value time—in this collection of reflections by our greatest writers. A season of both growth and of stillness, of hard work in the garden and of relaxing in the cool of the mountains, summer is a celebratory time. Every day matters, says summer. Look around you. Life is starting up again after a long winter and spring, and we find ourselves in a world filled with creatures and plants and shimmers of heat on the subway, with backyard cookouts and ice cream trucks jingling through the neighborhood. This collection of powerful, stirring pieces from a wealth of sources—ranging from poems composed in eighth-century China to letters from a pioneer woman in the American West, from the Declaration of Independence to Ray Bradbury’s musings on childhood summers—invites us all to fully experience the rich and bountiful spirituality of summer.

Discover how this transitional season can reveal both the abundance and the limitations of our everyday lives. Autumn, with all its traditional images of colorful trees, frost-covered pumpkins, and piles of wood stored up against winter's cold, can be a season filled with anticipation. The harvest, the imminent onset of cold and snow, the resumption of old routines, and the beginning of the school year all require preparation and planning. If summer has been something of a pause, autumn helps us to see the passage of time more clearly. Autumn is a season of fruition and reaping, of thanksgiving and celebration of abundance and goodness of the earth. But it is also a season that starkly and realistically encourages us to see our own limitations. Warm and stirring pieces by E. B. White, Anne Lamott, P. D. James, Julian of Norwich, May Sarton, Kimiko Hahn, and many others in this beautiful book rejoice in autumn as a time of preparation and reflection, when the results of hard labor are ripe for harvest.

Explore how the dormancy and difficulty of winter can be a time of spiritual preparation and transformation. For many, winter is a time of postponed activity―and of shoveling snow, navigating ice, and trying to keep warm. What can easily be forgotten in winter’s cold and occasional dreariness is that it can also be a time of shoring up, of purity, praise, delight, and play. In thirty stirring pieces―from translated Sanskrit and Hebrew poems to Henry David Thoreau and Basho, Jane Kenyon, John Updike, Kathleen Norris, and Annie Dillard―we share in the recognition of winter’s hardships and celebrate the glory of winter as a spiritual gift―a quiet time in the rhythm of life, a time of thoughtfulness, of looking forward, and of unexpected hope. Examining our retreat and hibernation from the world, and our ultimate breaking free from icy paralysis, these inspiring selections help us express and understand our own personal reaction to wintertime. They show us the way from the cold of this season to the warmth of the human soul.

Explore how the dormancy and difficulty of winter can be a time of spiritual preparation and transformation. For many, winter is a time of postponed activity―and of shoveling snow, navigating ice, and trying to keep warm. What can easily be forgotten in winter’s cold and occasional dreariness is that it can also be a time of shoring up, of purity, praise, delight, and play. In thirty stirring pieces―from translated Sanskrit and Hebrew poems to Henry David Thoreau and Basho, Jane Kenyon, John Updike, Kathleen Norris, and Annie Dillard―we share in the recognition of winter’s hardships and celebrate the glory of winter as a spiritual gift―a quiet time in the rhythm of life, a time of thoughtfulness, of looking forward, and of unexpected hope. Examining our retreat and hibernation from the world, and our ultimate breaking free from icy paralysis, these inspiring selections help us express and understand our own personal reaction to wintertime. They show us the way from the cold of this season to the warmth of the human soul.

Discover how this transitional season can reveal both the abundance and the limitations of our everyday lives. Autumn, with all its traditional images of colorful trees, frost-covered pumpkins, and piles of wood stored up against winter's cold, can be a season filled with anticipation. The harvest, the imminent onset of cold and snow, the resumption of old routines, and the beginning of the school year all require preparation and planning. If summer has been something of a pause, autumn helps us to see the passage of time more clearly. Autumn is a season of fruition and reaping, of thanksgiving and celebration of abundance and goodness of the earth. But it is also a season that starkly and realistically encourages us to see our own limitations. Warm and stirring pieces by E. B. White, Anne Lamott, P. D. James, Julian of Norwich, May Sarton, Kimiko Hahn, and many others in this beautiful book rejoice in autumn as a time of preparation and reflection, when the results of hard labor are ripe for harvest.

In 1574, Christopher Barker published a volume of prayers and poems collected and composed by Elizabeth Tyrwhit, an intimate member of Katherine Parr's circle, governess to the princess Elizabeth, wife of a Tudor court functionary, and a wealthy widow. Later, Tyrwhit's Morning and Evening Prayers was selected by Thomas Bentley to be republished in his 1582 compilation of devotional works, The Monument of Matrones. This volume presents critical, old-spelling editions of both versions of Morning and Evening Prayers. Placing them side by side, Susan Felch discloses that the second version contains nearly a quarter more material that the first, and is organized quite differently. Felch convincingly argues that the additional material and revised arrangement of the longer version are likely copied direct from another, no longer extant authorial version, either printed or manuscript. In the volume's introduction, Felch provides background on Tyrwhit's life and family, including new information unearthed in her research; and sets Tyrwhit's work within the context of sixteenth- century English prayerbooks. Felch here posits that Tyrwhit's reorganization and framing of traditional material indicates her own considerable creativity. The Textual Notes and Appendix A compare the 1574 and 1582 versions and identify the source texts from which Tyrwhit derives her prayers and poems. The edition is completed by an autograph note by Tyrwhit; a discussion of the Tyrwhit family connections, and several versions of the rhymed Hours of the Cross as background to Tyrwhit's rendition entitled, 'An Hymne of the Passion of Christ'.

Each essay in this Companion examines one or more literary texts and a religious tradition to illustrate how we can understand both literature and religion better by looking at them in tandem. Unlike most literature and religion books, which tend to focus on Christianity and take a highly theoretical approach inappropriate for non-specialists, The Cambridge Companion to Literature and Religion offers an accessible treatment of both Dharmic and Abrahamic traditions. It provides close readings of texts rather than surveys of large topics, making it an ideal resource for undergraduate and graduate students of literature and religion.

This book invites Christian teachers to slow down, take a deep breath, and allow their weary souls to recover. The authors - experienced teachers themselves - encourage teacher-readers to imagine their work differently, opening up possibilities for reanimating how they view learning in a Christian context. In Teaching and Christian Imagination David Smith and Susan Felch creatively use three metaphors - journeys, gardens, and buildings - to illuminate a fresh vision of teaching and learning. Stretching beyond familiar cliches, they infuse these metaphors with rich biblical echoes and theological resonances. "We need vision, not just beliefs and techniques," the authors argue in their introduction. "And that vision, if it is to sustain us, must be deeply Christian."

In the past thirty years there has been a sea change in North American intellectual life regarding the role of religious commitments in academic endeavors. Driven partly by post-modernism and the fragmentation of knowledge and partly by the democratization of the academy in which different voices are celebrated, the appropriate role that religion should play is contested. Some academics insist that religion cannot and must not have a place at the academic table; others insist that religious values should drive the argument. Faithful Imagination in the Academy takes an approach based on dialogue with various viewpoints, claiming neither too much nor too little. All the authors are seasoned academics with many significant publications to their credit. While they all know how the academy operates and how to make worthwhile contributions in their respective disciplines, they are also Christians whose religious commitments are reflected in their intellectual work.