The Ordering of Love: The New and Collected Poems of Madeleine L'Engle

Excellent poetry from a Christian author. L'Engle writes of her own spiritual struggles, dealing with death and ignorance, beauty and worship. She writes poems of Bible characters. This is not a book children will enjoy nearly as much as an adult, but there are a number of poems young people will enjoy if they are willing to look for them. This is one of my favorite poetry books.

I loved L'Engle's fiction as a child and when I recently discovered that she had also written poetry, I jumped at the chance to read this complete volume of her work. The first section, Lines Scribbled on an Envelope, started out promising. Her wit and way of looking at things differently were evident in poems such as "The Mermaid" and "The Dragon." Maybe it's because she was having fun incorporating fantasy and play into those that made me like them so much.

Most of the book contained religious poems. Some made me think, which I liked and appreciated, but most seemed preachy and too holy. From a subjective point of view, many did not even seem particularly well written, though there were certainly a few that stood out as excellent.

For show more me, she returned to her own strong voice near the end of the book with the uncollected poems, such as "My Sins, I Fear, Dear Lord, Lack Glamour." And the sonnets she wrote in honor of her dead husband were moving and beautiful. They felt much more real than the "holy" poems. A sample from "Sonnet 2": How long your closet held a whiff of you, / Long after hangers hung austere and bare. / I would walk in and suddenly the true / Sharp sweet sweat scent controlled the air / And life was in that small still living breath. From "Sonnet 3": This, too, is passion, the so gentle touch / Of fingertip to wrist, to shoulder, face.

If you are a L'Engle fan, there are bound to be poems in this book that will connect you with her spirit and life. show less