Poetry of Redemption: An Illustrated Treasury of Good Friday and Easter Poems

“The poems, hymns, and passages in this volume do more than remind readers of Holy Week’s events: they take us there. Here we walk with the crowds toward Jerusalem, sit with the disciples near Gethsemane, stand with Mary on Calvary, and run with Peter toward the empty tomb. A slow, meditative reading of this beautiful book holds the potential to make this Holy Week feel something like the very first, when the world was covered in darkness—and then burst into light.”

“As the beautifully illustrated emblem books from the early days of the printing press and the spiritual journals of the Puritans sought to do, Leland Ryken helps us to meditate deeply on God’s Word by engaging our imagination, our understanding, and our will. By not only putting forward these ‘songs, hymns, and spiritual songs’ but also guiding us through them, Professor Ryken leads us into profound devotion on the saving death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

“Leland Ryken does it again with this wonderful meditation on Holy Week. Through carefully selected poems and images and insightful, accessible commentary, Ryken takes us on a spiritual and aesthetic journey into the agony and the ecstasy, the power and the paradox of Christ’s betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection.”

“Leland Ryken is a master anthologist with an encyclopedic knowledge of devotional poetry and literature. Now he hones in on the literature of Holy Week with a rich feast designed to help us to contemplate and meditate on the wonders of Christ’s death and resurrection.”