A Year with George Herbert: A Guide to Fifty-Two of His Best Loved Poems

Since 1633 when The Temple was first published many notable Christians have testified of their love for George Herberts poetry. The great nineteenth-century preacher C. H. Spurgeon and his wife would sometimes read Herberts poetry together on Sunday evenings. Richard Baxter wrote Herbert speaks to God like one that really believeth a God and whose business in the world is most with God. C. S. Lewis described Herbert as a man who seemed to me to excel all the authors I had ever read in conveying the very quality of life as we actually live it from moment to moment . . . Regrettably as the years have passed Herberts poetry has been increasingly neglected outside the academy. Many who would love Herbert have never even heard of him. Others feel intimidated by his poetry fearing that they do not have the education necessary to understand what Herbert has written. In this book Jimmy Scott Orrick has made the poetry of George Herbert accessible even to those who have had no experience reading poetry. In addition to providing thorough notes for each poem Orrick also gives basic pointers about how to read poetry. Why not follow C. H. Spurgeons example and have a page or two of good George Herbert on your Sunday evenings? Those who follow this prescription will be deeply enriched for having spent A Year with George Herbert. Jim Scott Orrick is Professor of Literature and Culture at Boyce College the undergraduate school of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary at Louisville. This is his first book.