Revelation (Pocket Canon)
Registered by 
Cordelia-anne
of Decatur, Georgia USA on 10/25/2013
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
Cordelia-anne of Decatur, Georgia USA on 10/25/2013 This Book is Currently in the Wild!
2 journalers for this copy...
The New Jerusalem
William Blake
And did those feet in ancient time.
Walk upon England's mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On England's pleasant pastures seen!
And did the Countenance Divine,
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here,
Among these dark Satanic Mills?
Bring me my Bow of burning gold;
Bring me my Arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of fire!
I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand:
Till we have built Jerusalem,
In Englands green & pleasant Land
From childhood this William Blake poem, set to music, has been my favorite hymn. So I was happy to read Kathleen Norris' radically optimistic take on the book of Revelation, which she calls "a poet's book." She's right, it is. And I was glad to learn from her that Revelation was Emily Dickinson's favorite book of the Bible. Still, though there is much that I find beautiful and touching in Revelation, the book remains difficult for me, even after reading this eye-opening essay and approaching it with new enthusiasm. Yes, Revelation is a fascinating dream. I will try to love it more as I love William Blake's New Jerusalem, a vision Blake garnered from Revelation and from his life as an Englishman. We all long for the New Jerusalem but the destruction of the life we know is frightening to imagine.
I have come to love these controversial little "Pocket Canons," published by Grove Press back in the late 1990s. As the English-speaking world spins further and further away from its cultural and literary roots, it is good to have these lovingly printed editions of books of the King James Bible, translated between 1603 and 1611. Then England was just two generations away from being a Catholic country and the fairly new printing press brought books, formerly only owned by the very rich, the Church, Universities and other vaunted institutions of the day, to more and more people. Thus, the King James translation became a seminal book of my dear mother-tongue, English, spoken beautifully and with great love in the American South of my childhood. I didn't stumble upon these little books until about 2004 when I started bookcrossing. I was drawn to them as a lover of English and a reverent user of it. I've found so many of the introductory essays within the tiny editions just wonderful. Grove Press comissioned prominent secular writers or other cultural figures like musician Bono and the Dalai Lama, the religious leader of Tibetan Buddhism, to review the books of the King James Canon. Most of the time, I've enjoyed the secular commentary, though one did trouble me. Anyway, the little Pocket Canons, though not technically in print anymore, are still about. Readers can find them online and at used bookstores. I haven't read all of them, but I did purchase the wonderful book Revelations: Personal Responses to the Books of the Bible, released in 2007 by Canongate Books. All of the Pocket Canons' essays are reprinted in Revelations, though without the King James translations of the books they discuss.
William Blake
And did those feet in ancient time.
Walk upon England's mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On England's pleasant pastures seen!
And did the Countenance Divine,
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here,
Among these dark Satanic Mills?
Bring me my Bow of burning gold;
Bring me my Arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of fire!
I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand:
Till we have built Jerusalem,
In Englands green & pleasant Land
From childhood this William Blake poem, set to music, has been my favorite hymn. So I was happy to read Kathleen Norris' radically optimistic take on the book of Revelation, which she calls "a poet's book." She's right, it is. And I was glad to learn from her that Revelation was Emily Dickinson's favorite book of the Bible. Still, though there is much that I find beautiful and touching in Revelation, the book remains difficult for me, even after reading this eye-opening essay and approaching it with new enthusiasm. Yes, Revelation is a fascinating dream. I will try to love it more as I love William Blake's New Jerusalem, a vision Blake garnered from Revelation and from his life as an Englishman. We all long for the New Jerusalem but the destruction of the life we know is frightening to imagine.
I have come to love these controversial little "Pocket Canons," published by Grove Press back in the late 1990s. As the English-speaking world spins further and further away from its cultural and literary roots, it is good to have these lovingly printed editions of books of the King James Bible, translated between 1603 and 1611. Then England was just two generations away from being a Catholic country and the fairly new printing press brought books, formerly only owned by the very rich, the Church, Universities and other vaunted institutions of the day, to more and more people. Thus, the King James translation became a seminal book of my dear mother-tongue, English, spoken beautifully and with great love in the American South of my childhood. I didn't stumble upon these little books until about 2004 when I started bookcrossing. I was drawn to them as a lover of English and a reverent user of it. I've found so many of the introductory essays within the tiny editions just wonderful. Grove Press comissioned prominent secular writers or other cultural figures like musician Bono and the Dalai Lama, the religious leader of Tibetan Buddhism, to review the books of the King James Canon. Most of the time, I've enjoyed the secular commentary, though one did trouble me. Anyway, the little Pocket Canons, though not technically in print anymore, are still about. Readers can find them online and at used bookstores. I haven't read all of them, but I did purchase the wonderful book Revelations: Personal Responses to the Books of the Bible, released in 2007 by Canongate Books. All of the Pocket Canons' essays are reprinted in Revelations, though without the King James translations of the books they discuss.
Revelation 21:4
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
For my new friend glade1, the book of Revelation revealed optimistically. It is, as Kathleen Norris says, a poetic dream book. This does not make it any less true.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
For my new friend glade1, the book of Revelation revealed optimistically. It is, as Kathleen Norris says, a poetic dream book. This does not make it any less true.
Received as a nice surprise with another RABCK book from cordelia-anne. Thank you! I look forward to reading Kathleen Norris's take on the book as well as to rereading Revelation itself. I'm in the midst of a yearlong Bible study and will save this for the weeks when we delve into the Revelation.
Thanks again!
Thanks again!
Journal Entry 4 by 
glade1
at Little Free Library at Eclectic By Nature in Greensboro, North Carolina USA on Sunday, August 16, 2020
glade1 at Little Free Library at Eclectic By Nature in Greensboro, North Carolina USA on Sunday, August 16, 2020
Released 3 yrs ago (8/16/2020 UTC) at Little Free Library at Eclectic By Nature in Greensboro, North Carolina USA
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BookCrossing is a community of readers with a mission to share books by "releasing" them into the wild, as well as trading and sharing with each other. Our forums are a wonderful place to chat with other readers about what you are reading and anything else that's on your mind. It's lots of fun!
Once you are finished with this book, please take the time to make another journal entry telling what you thought about it and where it's going next. Thanks!
