Seren of the Wildwood

<p>Seren is born on the brink of Wildwood realm of shadowy fey who listen and laugh-who sometimes bless and sometimes curse. As she grows into young womanhood shaped by a familial tragedy tied to her conception she is lured from home by a whispering mystery in Wildwood where the supernatural roams freely through time and space. In riddling often dangerous forests and mountains marked by fallen powers and holy women oracles hermits and giants Seren finds both violence and balm on a path arrowing toward transformation.</p><p>Seren Seren Seren. This poem whispers to our fractured souls and with it Marly Youmans invites us into an adventure that is at once psychologically potent and fantastical. Youmans can paint luminous vistas with her prismatic words. Such holy incantation now rare in American arts gives grace to our mystery-filled Wildwood journeys. Youmans is a gem and <em>Seren</em> is an immense gift for the sanctification of our imaginations. <strong> -MAKOTO FUJIMURA artist author of <em>Art+Faith: A Theology of Making</em> (Yale University Press)</strong></p>