DESCRIPTION

Conference on Christianity and Literature Book of the Year (2004)

These beautifully crafted pieces are not "religious poems" in the usual sense. As Jellema explains, "These poems individually are not spiritual message-bearers. Still, it is inevitable that my belief in a beautiful world that is broken and divinely redeemed — though I am not preaching about it — should be evident throughout." And it is, as Jellema takes a second, deeper look at such things as green beans in all their glory, a lovesick lonely young man in a Laundromat, and his own sense of the world while snorkeling in the Red Sea.

“Reading these chastely-chiseled compositions provides a pleasure of a high order — health to the mind and challenges to live reflectively. They prove the truth of [Czeslaw] Milosz’s observation that ‘One clear stanza can take more weight / Than a whole wagon of elaborate prose.’” - Christianity & Literature

"A Slender Grace is emotional, captivating, deftly penned, and speaks directly to the heart in a body of inspiring work urging the reader to never surrender to despair." - Midwest Book Review