S T Kimbrough

This little book of poems reveals how the author has dealt with the grief that accompanied the death of his wife of fifty-nine years. The poems are a conversation on the journey through the grieving process, which perhaps has no end. Yes, they are permeated with a deep faith that there is more to life than merely living and dying. At the same time, they are honest responses to how painful it is to lose your life partner. Many of the poems are autobiographical: about first encounter, marriage, life and love together, and death. The actual physical occurrence of death can be readily described by physicians, but its emotional and life effect is much more illusory. Without question, these poems are simply one person's response to death and grief. They provide no decisive answers on how to respond to either, but if one's open and honest response can help others address such challenges, so be it. The goal of the author is not to provide steps for the grieving, rather through poetry to share the thoughts of the heart and mind as they grapple with death and grief. He avers that through the very difficult process of grieving, which may never completely end, love alone is the key to healing and renewal. ""In these piercingly honest poems occasioned by the death of his beloved wife, Sarah, S T Kimbrough, Jr., gives unguarded voice to his grief. This is not easy reading because these poems force us to face not only the death of those we love but our deaths. These are searing poems, but in a strange way they are beautiful."" --Stanley Hauerwas, Professor of Theology and Ethics, Divinity School, Durham, North Carolina ""In these 33 poems by S T Kimbrough, Jr., I found a depth of love, grief, passion, and power that poetry alone can convey. My heart was melted and my resolve to live fully and die well was strengthened. The journey of life and death--grief and loss--is artfully presented. This little volume will bless and benefit many."" --Thomas R. Albin, Director of Spiritual Formation and Congregational Life, The Upper Room Ministries, Nashville, Tennessee ""Kimbrough writes of the reality of the death of his wife in poems that express grief with emotion, tears, and faith. His acknowledgement of the enduring love of God and of his own love for his wife is based on the grace given by God in times of hurt, grief and loss. His poems also tell of the fact that even within 'grief there is hope, ' comfort and assurance of God's presence."" --Joyce D. Sohl, Laywomen-in-Residence, Scarritt Bennett Center, Nashville, Tennessee ""I am moved by Kimbrough's ability to translate the many feelings that go with death and loss into words that he is now sharing with others. I am sure these poems will be a comfort to those who read them. They also model for others the power of writing to access inner strength and wisdom during a time of grieving."" --Peggy J. Kinney, Hospice Bereavement Counselor, Duke Hospice Bereavement Services, Duke Home Care and Hospice S T Kimbrough, Jr., holds a PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary and is currently a research fellow of the Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition at Duke Divinity School, Durham, North Carolina. He is author of the following books by Wipf and Stock: The Lyrical Theology of Charles Wesley, Radical Grace: Justice for the Poor and Marginalized, Partakers of the Life Divine: Participation in the Divine Nature in the Writings of Charles Wesley, and has published poetry in the journal Theology Today.

This little book of poems reveals how the author has dealt with the grief that accompanied the death of his wife of fifty-nine years. The poems are a conversation on the journey through the grieving process, which perhaps has no end. Yes, they are permeated with a deep faith that there is more to life than merely living and dying. At the same time, they are honest responses to how painful it is to lose your life partner. Many of the poems are autobiographical: about first encounter, marriage, life and love together, and death. The actual physical occurrence of death can be readily described by physicians, but its emotional and life effect is much more illusory. Without question, these poems are simply one person's response to death and grief. They provide no decisive answers on how to respond to either, but if one's open and honest response can help others address such challenges, so be it. The goal of the author is not to provide steps for the grieving, rather through poetry to share the thoughts of the heart and mind as they grapple with death and grief. He avers that through the very difficult process of grieving, which may never completely end, love alone is the key to healing and renewal. ""In these piercingly honest poems occasioned by the death of his beloved wife, Sarah, S T Kimbrough, Jr., gives unguarded voice to his grief. This is not easy reading because these poems force us to face not only the death of those we love but our deaths. These are searing poems, but in a strange way they are beautiful."" --Stanley Hauerwas, Professor of Theology and Ethics, Divinity School, Durham, North Carolina ""In these 33 poems by S T Kimbrough, Jr., I found a depth of love, grief, passion, and power that poetry alone can convey. My heart was melted and my resolve to live fully and die well was strengthened. The journey of life and death--grief and loss--is artfully presented. This little volume will bless and benefit many."" --Thomas R. Albin, Director of Spiritual Formation and Congregational Life, The Upper Room Ministries, Nashville, Tennessee ""Kimbrough writes of the reality of the death of his wife in poems that express grief with emotion, tears, and faith. His acknowledgement of the enduring love of God and of his own love for his wife is based on the grace given by God in times of hurt, grief and loss. His poems also tell of the fact that even within 'grief there is hope, ' comfort and assurance of God's presence."" --Joyce D. Sohl, Laywomen-in-Residence, Scarritt Bennett Center, Nashville, Tennessee ""I am moved by Kimbrough's ability to translate the many feelings that go with death and loss into words that he is now sharing with others. I am sure these poems will be a comfort to those who read them. They also model for others the power of writing to access inner strength and wisdom during a time of grieving."" --Peggy J. Kinney, Hospice Bereavement Counselor, Duke Hospice Bereavement Services, Duke Home Care and Hospice S T Kimbrough, Jr., holds a PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary and is currently a research fellow of the Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition at Duke Divinity School, Durham, North Carolina. He is author of the following books by Wipf and Stock: The Lyrical Theology of Charles Wesley, Radical Grace: Justice for the Poor and Marginalized, Partakers of the Life Divine: Participation in the Divine Nature in the Writings of Charles Wesley, and has published poetry in the journal Theology Today.

The Jewish/Palestinian conflict in the Middle East goes on and on without resolution, and in the course of the tactics of delay thousands of people have suffered and died. Those who have suffered the most have been women and children, and at times entire villages have been destroyed. Adherents of both sides of the conflict cry ""foul"" and accuse their opponents of injustice and intransigence. An Israeli bus and its passengers are blown up by a suicide bomber, a Palestinian village is bombed in response. Land owned by a Palestinian farmer is confiscated in order to build a Jewish settlement. While politicians jockey back and forth over who is right and wrong and over what is right and wrong, children die from dastardly injuries and malnutrition, and people are unjustly imprisoned. One wonders where is the cry for human dignity? Where is the cry for compassion and humane behavior? The plea of these poems is that the adherents of the three Abrahamic faiths of the Middle East--Jews, Christians, and Muslims--in the midst of conflicts that have precipitated the persecution, starvation, and death of thousands, particularly children, acknowledge their common humanity and work together for peace and harmony. ""Kimbrough's poetic articulation of the heart-rending dislocations and victimizations of a people shows that where prose fails, poetry's aesthetics, rhythm, and symbolism succeed magnificently. It invokes in us rage and powerlessness, demanding a dynamic ethical response and a vigorous prophetic and critical mind. S T's poems reflect his training in Hebrew scriptures, with its prophetic, ethical, and wisdom materials, and he composes these poems as if they were a libretto to be sung, a reminder of his other vocation as an operatic baritone."" --Charles Amjad-Ali, Martin Luther King, Jr., Professor of Justice and Christian Community and Director of Islamic Studies Program, Emeritus, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota ""I highly recommend this collection of transformative poems. They are powerful and touch our hearts and minds."" --Mazin Qumsiyeh, Professor and Director, Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability, Bethlehem University, Occupied Palestine S T Kimbrough, Jr., holds a PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary and is currently a research fellow of the Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition at Duke Divinity School, Durham, North Carolina. He is author of the following books by Wipf and Stock: The Lyrical Theology of Charles Wesley (2011), Radical Grace: Justice for the Poor and Marginalized (2013), Partakers of the Life Divine: Participation in the Divine Nature in the Writings of Charles Wesley (2016), and has published poetry in the journal Theology Today.

This is the first-ever index of the first line of every stanza of all the poems and hymns in the publications of John and Charles Wesley, as well as those of other authors included in their publications. Two sources have been used as the basis for the creation of the index: (1) George Osborn, The Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, thirteen volumes published between 1868 and 1872; (2) S T Kimbrough, Jr., Oliver A. Beckerlegge, The Unpublished Poetry of Charles Wesley, three volumes published in 1988, 1990, and 1992. The index in volume 13 of Osborn's work was an attempt to produce a first-line index of all stanzas of the poems included in the thirteen-volume work. There were hundreds of omissions and occasional misspellings. Due to lack of space, first lines were often abbreviated, thus providing often only portions of first lines. In this index first lines of all poem stanzas are printed in full, omissions are included, and misspellings are corrected. This index also provides a comparable index for all previously unpublished poems in the Kimbrough/Beckerlegge volumes. This is the first comprehensive and reliable index to Wesley poetry, which will assist interpreters with the full range of John and Charles Wesley's verse. ""No one has done more than S T Kimbrough, Jr. to rescue the work of John and Charles Wesley from the hands of amateurs and 'Reverend Drones' (see p. 367). The present work is a herculean task and a labor of love: it provides a clear and accurate reference tool to those seeking to find a half-forgotten stanza or a mis-remembered line. It will be an indispensable first reference point for all serious inquirers into the hymns of the Wesley brothers, and for all scholars of their hymns."" -- J. R. Watson, Author of The English Hymn: A Critical and Historical Study ""This index will have a special place in the work space of Wesley scholars for years to come. Kuddos to S T Kimbrough, Jr. for this labor of love: meticulous, comprehensive, and accessible. Indices are never really meant to shimmer, but this one is pure gold nonetheless--a must have for anyone interested in lyrical theology."" --Paul W. Chilcote, Author of A Faith That Sings: Biblical Themes in the Lyrical Theology of Charles Wesley S T Kimbrough, Jr. is a Research Fellow of the Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition of Duke Divinity School. He is the founder of The Charles Wesley Society and has served as its president and editor of its journal, Proceedings of The Charles Wesley Society. As author/editor he has published many books on Charles Wesley, including: The Manuscript Journal of the Rev. Charles Wesley, M.A. (2 vols.), The Unpublished Poetry of Charles Wesley (3 vols.), and The Lyrical Theology of Charles Wesley.

This is the first-ever index of the first line of every stanza of all the poems and hymns in the publications of John and Charles Wesley, as well as those of other authors included in their publications. Two sources have been used as the basis for the creation of the index: (1) George Osborn, The Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, thirteen volumes published between 1868 and 1872; (2) S T Kimbrough, Jr., Oliver A. Beckerlegge, The Unpublished Poetry of Charles Wesley, three volumes published in 1988, 1990, and 1992. The index in volume 13 of Osborn's work was an attempt to produce a first-line index of all stanzas of the poems included in the thirteen-volume work. There were hundreds of omissions and occasional misspellings. Due to lack of space, first lines were often abbreviated, thus providing often only portions of first lines. In this index first lines of all poem stanzas are printed in full, omissions are included, and misspellings are corrected. This index also provides a comparable index for all previously unpublished poems in the Kimbrough/Beckerlegge volumes. This is the first comprehensive and reliable index to Wesley poetry, which will assist interpreters with the full range of John and Charles Wesley's verse. ""No one has done more than S T Kimbrough, Jr. to rescue the work of John and Charles Wesley from the hands of amateurs and 'Reverend Drones' (see p. 367). The present work is a herculean task and a labor of love: it provides a clear and accurate reference tool to those seeking to find a half-forgotten stanza or a mis-remembered line. It will be an indispensable first reference point for all serious inquirers into the hymns of the Wesley brothers, and for all scholars of their hymns."" -- J. R. Watson, Author of The English Hymn: A Critical and Historical Study ""This index will have a special place in the work space of Wesley scholars for years to come. Kuddos to S T Kimbrough, Jr. for this labor of love: meticulous, comprehensive, and accessible. Indices are never really meant to shimmer, but this one is pure gold nonetheless--a must have for anyone interested in lyrical theology."" --Paul W. Chilcote, Author of A Faith That Sings: Biblical Themes in the Lyrical Theology of Charles Wesley S T Kimbrough, Jr. is a Research Fellow of the Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition of Duke Divinity School. He is the founder of The Charles Wesley Society and has served as its president and editor of its journal, Proceedings of The Charles Wesley Society. As author/editor he has published many books on Charles Wesley, including: The Manuscript Journal of the Rev. Charles Wesley, M.A. (2 vols.), The Unpublished Poetry of Charles Wesley (3 vols.), and The Lyrical Theology of Charles Wesley.