The Mystery of It All

“Mariani remains our finest reader of Gerard Manley Hopkins, and his appreciation for that British Jesuit’s genius is borne from the synthesis of skilled close-reading and consideration of a complex life. In this book, Mariani pivots from Hopkins to a bevy of modern Catholic poets, before concluding with an insightful look at the state of the Catholic intellectual tradition at American universities. An expansive book that offers both wisdom and hope.” —Nick Ripatrazone, culture editor for Image Magazine, author of the novel, This Darksome Burn, and a collection of stories, Ember Days

“To read the never prosaic, always poetic, prose of Paul Mariani's The Mystery of It All is to feel called to action and then guided by a voice at once both lovingly personal and yet passionately prophetic, the voice of not just an intellectual but also a spiritual father, calling writers, teachers, and editors to preserve the "incomprehensible certainty" of the Mystery and a sacramental understanding of our world.” —Mary Ann B. Miller, professor of English, Caldwell University, and founding editor, Presence: A Journal of Catholic Poetry