To Phrase a Prayer for Peace wrestles with what is holy, with the world as we humans have constructed it, with war and violence, with love and friendship, with communication between people (and nations) who might not agree, with being comfortable while others are dying, with the felt fears of a Jew and thus the need for a Jewish homeland, with profound empathy for Palestinians who also need a homeland, and with scripture, in particular, the Psalms.
The first poetry reading of the year at The Poets Corner—Donna Spruijt-Metz’ writing invites the reader to wish for peace with her and she and Mark Burrows explored some of the complexities that peace entails—between nations, between religions, in families, between friends.
To Phrase a Prayer for Peace is incantatory and intricate, haunting and lovely. As the days and devastation accumulate the poems do too; they gather spiritual strength and culminate as an extended hymn. Donna Spruijt-Metz’s voice is distinct and resonant. This work is personal. It required her whole self, the sum of her considerable wisdom and lived experience. In order to meet this solemn moment, Spruijt-Metz offers everything she has – abundantly, carefully, and well.
—Michael Kleber-Diggs, author of Worldly Things
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