‘The holy space ablaze’: New understandings of spiritual reality through poetry and music

Abstract

In this exploration of the spiritual significance of poetry and music, Dr Alison Jack reflects on the power that such media hold for the opening up of new possibilities, and indeed new realities, for those prepared to respond to such an invitation. Jack looks at the particular ways in which imagination can become an encounter with the divine as she considers Christine De Luca’s poem “Like a Flaring Thing” and Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time. Her consideration of the spiritual potential of art brings her into a dialogue with Paul Fiddes and Malcolm Guite, highlighting the role that creativity plays in the human response to God and God’s self-revelation, and the interpretive ministry of poets, composers, and other artists.