Searching for Nova Albion

The title Searching for Nova Albion comes from a pilgrimage Pamela Cranston an Episcopal priest once made to Drakes Beach near Point Reyes California. There in 1579 Sir Francis Drake landed the first English ship in North America which he called Nova Albion (New Britain). The title poem is a protest against abuses of the environment and of power wherever and whenever they happen.Inspired by the works of George Herbert Gerard Manley Hopkins R. S. Thomas David Scott and Rowan Williams the author aspires to follow in their footsteps as a fellow poet-priest. Searching for Nova Albion displays a distinctive kind of spiritual sensibility found both within twentieth century English classical music and the Northern California landscape.These poems display a love for the roots and beauty of the English language as well as an appreciation for the mystical but also keep a critical eye to question laugh with or doubt Christian tradition. Common themes that arise are unexpected encounters with nature and the numinous; questions about life death and eternity; writing and finding ones voice; dealing with loss and defeat; and the recompense of joy.