Written over a period of approximately twenty years, the poems in this collection are unified in a single theme--the experience of longing. The poems explore multiple expressions of longing--longing for love, for personal relationship, for youth, for beauty, for creativity, for the divine, for transcendence, for immortality--which are explored through the generous use of symbolic (sometimes theological) language, and often through images of nature. The ultimate "thesis" of the book is that while longing serves as the potency to carry one along the road of one's spiritual journey, it is also the last thing that must be let go of in order to reach one's destination--the last thing to be sacrificed before the heart is able to trust and to open to transcendent joy.
A native of southern Ontario, Michelle Rebidoux studied art, philosophy, and religious studies at various Canadian universities, receiving her PhD in religion and culture from McGill University in 2008. She currently resides in St. John’s, Newfoundland, where she teaches religious studies at Memorial University and theology at Queen’s College. In her spare time, Michelle loves painting, writing poetry, and hiking in the beautiful Newfoundland landscape.
