And the Risen Bread

"Because of politics, or perhaps religion, Berrigan has never received his due as a poet. Jesuit and activist, he's been writing poems from rectories, safe houses, and jail cells for more than 40 years? 14 volumes' worth, much of it collected here. The range of these poems may surprise, going well beyond politics and religion, but Berrigan is about engagement. He's often defiant and in-your-face, but his poetry is tempered, honest, and sure: "no/ horse thieves, poachers,/ informers in our blood! Nicked by his razor Dado/ muttered in the mirror; the blood of Irish kings!/ Mother at the stove, turns up her eyes to heaven." His love of country and church is apparent, as is his occasional frustration with both; it is his engagement with the world, though, that makes him a poet worth our attention. Highly recommended. -Library Journal