Christine has three poems in the newest edition of Impspired Magazine online! Click the link for “St Clare and the Cat,” “St Francis and the Wolf,” and “My Last Poem.” The first two are from her series of saint and animals poems. Click here to read the poems at Inspired Magazine.
? Praise Song for the Pandemic from Christine Valters Paintner on Vimeo. The combined views of our YouTube and Vimeo versions of the Praise Song for the Pandemic video have reached over 150,000 and over a million on Facebook! We are grateful to know many are using this in their online worship services. Diane Ellison wrote to us to ask permission to translate the poem into French which we share gratefully below. Chant de louange durant la pandémie Loués soient les infirmières, les médecins et tout le personnel médical qui prennent soin des humains et qui, par leur présence, réussissent
Christine was featured on the Ave Explores podcast this week to talk about “The Soul of the Artist” Christine has a new poem titled “Spring Ephemerals” in Bearings journal online which celebrates spring’s arrival and our intimacy with the more-than-human world. You can read it here>> St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Arlington, VA is having an online art exhibition in response to the pandemic – here is a collection of poems shared including mine on p. 27 “Always” under the theme of Solace. This poem comes from her second poetry collection The Wisdom of Wild Grace, being published by Paraclete
Christine has had several poems published recently in various journals online: Book of Kells in ARTS: Journal for the Arts in Religious and Theological Studies Handless Maiden in North West Words (inspired by one of Christine’s favorite fairy tales of the same name) Little Red Riding Hood in Bangor Literary Journal Christine has a second collection of poems that will be published in fall 2020 by Paraclete Press titled The Wisdom of Wild Grace with a series of poems inspired by the many wonderful stories of kinship between saints and animals. She’s been working with UK artist David Hollington to
Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, I hope you have enjoyed the series of poetry videos we have produced in collaboration with Morgan Creative. One of our great joys here at the Abbey is bringing artists together whether through these videos, the albums we are creating, or the icon series we commissioned. When time and resources allow we hope to continue these video offerings. For now, I thought I’d share links to all eight of the poems in case you have missed any of them over the last few months: How to Be a Pilgrim Requiem for Myself Take My Hand
How to Be a Pilgrim Air travel is like ancient pilgrims walking on their knees, flight delays and narrow seats offer their own kind of penance. You jettison excess baggage, leaving behind the heavy makeup case, knowing the rain will wash you free of artifice. Books you wanted to carry left too, no more outside words needed, then go old beliefs which keep you taut and twisted inside. Blistered feet stumble over rocky fields covered with wildflowers and you realize this is your life, full of sharp stones and color. Red-breasted robins call forth the song already inside, a hundred
Requiem for Myself When I die plant a pinwheel in an open field where winter’s wind and rain march forcefully across in battalions, and you can stumble out there to meet me one late afternoon when you feel the world must surely be ending. You, soaked from tears and storms, kinship with dark sky. Me, rainbow axis whirling, an orbit of joyful defiance. You then, inspired, tumble gleefully across grass, pirouette, forgetting for a moment grief’s burden, knowing the world will be with you for many years to come. Never think this brief sojourn wasted as you head back to