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Malcolm as Gerry Garcia

Malcolm in Jerry Garcia mode

ALL MY NEW POSTS, POEMS, AND COMMENTS ARE ON THE BLOG PAGE

You can contact me at malcolmguite@gmail.com and you can subscribe to this blog and receive new poems  regularly by simply clicking on the ‘sign me up’ button in the right hand sidebar

All my published poems, and many unpublished ones are available on this blog together with recordings of me reading them. Just put a title or phrase from the poem into the search box on the right hand sidebar, on any page, and the poem should come up

Here are some review snippets of my recent book Mariner:

Guite is a serious and substantive critic, and there is more about Coleridge’s greatest poem here than in any work published in the last quarter century. I imagine this book may become a classic of Christian spirituality The Tablet

This book -which is full of judiciously chosen quotations from Coleridge’s mesmerising letters and notebooks- is a splendid celebration of the grizzled figure who ‘stoppeth one of three’ and the tragic artist who created him. — The Times

There is much to praise in Mariner – not least that it is a 470-page book unapologetically devoted to interpreting, and celebrating, a single poem. That Guite neither sexes up his manuscript nor curbs his religious enthusiasm gives his interpretation an impressive dose of integrity. — Frances Wilson,New Statesman

Forcefully and convincingly argued. — The Telegraph

The story of Coleridge’s life does undoubtedly echo that of his poem. This is a book that provides rewarding rereadings of both. — Nick Rennison, The Sunday Times

 

Malcolm Guite’s new biography is ingeniously structured around the Mariner…Guite has an unerring eye for the memorable anecdote… He writes with passion about Coleridge’s distinctive Christian theology. Coleridge was surely one of the inspirations for Sherlock Holmes. His life would make a great movie. I wonder who should be cast as Silas Tomkyn Comberbache? — The Times

 

It is difficult to suppose that there could be a more imaginative or incisive reading of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner; this is a visionary interpretation of a visionary poem — Susanna Clarke author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

 

In this remarkable book, using a very close reading of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner as an armature, Guite attempts to make good this lacuna and to use Coleridge’s evolving religion – to build up a view of the poet’s visionary life…excellent and richly compelling reading. — The Irish Catholic

 

This is a superior life of Coleridge … Guite has complete mastery of the primary and secondary literature [and] masterfully interweaves sections from the Mariner with episodes from Coleridge’s unfolding life to both enhance our appreciation of Coleridge’s poetic powers and to bring us up to speed on all that is known of his later life. — The Heythrop Journal

 

Malcolm Guite has established himself as one of the leading Christian poets of our time. This positions him to offer a distinctive reading of a poetic giant of the past, S. T. Coleridge. As expected, Mariner is exceptionally rich, penetrating and absorbing.

— Jeremy Begbie, Duke University

 

An illuminating close reading of the poem, relating it at every point to the subsequent course of Coleridge’s life, he shows us why it remains so important for our culture. — The Church Times

 

A profound exploration of the human condition…Guite also draws out the continuing relevance of Coleridge’s life and writing to our own time. — Transpositions

 

 

I am a poet-priest and Chaplain of Girton College Cambridge, but I often travel round Great Britain, and to North America, to give lectures, concerts and poetry readings.  For more details of these and other engagements go to my Events Page. You can read more about who I am and what I do on the Interviews Page

I am the author of eight books (with two more on the way) Here are links to the eight already ‘out there’

Mariner: A Voyage with Samuel Taylor Coleridge Hodder 2017

Parable and Paradox: Sonnets on the Sayings of Jesus and Other Poems Canterbury Press 2016

Waiting on the Word; a poem a day for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany Canterbury Press 2015

The Word in the Wilderness; a poem a day for Lent, Holy week and Easter Canterbury Press 2014

The Singing Bowl Canterbury Press 2013

Sounding the Seasons Canterbury Press 2012

Faith Hope and Poetry  Ashgate  2010 and 2012.

What Do Christians Believe?  Granta 2006

For details about these and other books to which I have contributed see the Books Page

Here are some kind comments on my book of sonnets Sounding the Seasons:

Malcolm Guite knows exactly how to use the sonnet form to powerful effect.  These pieces have the economy and pungency of all good sonnets, and again and again, offer deep resources for prayer and meditation to the reader.  In his own words, ‘brevity, clarity, concentration and a capacity for paradox’ are typical of the best sonnet sequences, and all those qualities are to be found here. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury

Malcolm Guite’s poetic sequence is fresh and wholly contemporary, yet richly rooted in tradition. Using the sonnet form with absolute naturalness as he traces the year and its festivals, he offers the reader – whether Christian or not – profound and beautiful utterance which is patterned but also refreshingly spontaneous. Sounding the Seasons is an important poetic event, and one that invites readers to share both celebration and soul-searching. Grevel Lindop, poet and literary critic

And here are some on my book about poetry and theology Faith Hope and Poetry:

“A profound theology of the imagination, developed in dialogue with writers both familiar and unfamiliar, beautifully combining close reading with wide horizons” Rt Revd Rowan Williams Archbishop of Canterbury

“Malcolm Guite has offered us an immensely rich work…in which the truth telling available only in poetry is brought to the service of mature theological vision. It is quite simply both astounding and outstanding” Rt Revd Stephen Sykes Former Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge University

All my new posts, including many new poems are on the Blog Page

I also plays in Cambridge rock band Mystery Train, you can access the band and the music by clicking on either of the CD covers in the side bar of any page.

To contact me about talks, performances or poetry readings email  malcolmguite@gmail.com