The Poets' Book of Psalms is a complete English-language translation of the Psalms by almost 50 poets from the 16th to the 20th centuries. The formidable team of translators includes John Milton, Philip Sidney, Mary Herbert Sidney, Henry Vaughn, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Burns, and Christopher Smart. On numerous pages of this book, translations made centuries apart appear right next to one another. This stylistic disorientation can be spiritually invigorating: readers are reminded of the eternally fresh meanings hidden in the Bible's familiar words. Here, for example, is George Herbert's translation of the first verses of the 23rd Psalm: "The God of love my shepherd is, / And he that doth me feed: / While he is mind, and I am his, / What can I want or need?" For comparison, a complete King James Version of the Psalter is at the back of the book. --Michael Joseph Gross


From Booklist
No other book of the Hebrew Bible is more popular or, by poets' lights, less satisfactorily rendered by standard English translations than Psalms. Oh, the King James Version of the Twenty-third is unassailable, but poets have been striving to better their Bibles' prosiness since even before the KJV. Editor Wieder selects from five centuries of alternative versions to produce a complete Psalms of considerable historic and aesthetic as well as religious significance. Many of the greatest names in British poetry--Wyatt, the Elizabethan songwriter Campion, Herbert, Milton, Smart, Burns, Coleridge--are represented, and students of women writers will note that, as far as the Psalms are concerned, where Philip Sidney appears, his sister, Mary, who completed his project to paraphrase all the Psalms, does, too, much to her credit. Wieder's introduction is abrupt to the point of rudeness, and the few psalm versions of his own that he includes are of comparatively lesser stature, but with the entire KJV Psalms appended for good measure, this is a book no self-respecting English or Christian literature collection should forgo. Ray Olson


Book Description
Poetry has traditionally embodied religious imagination and reflected the deepest longings, joys, and tribulations of humanity. As the Bible's best-known poetry, the Psalms have been a rich source of inspiration for meditation, song, and recitation for thousands of years. Uniting the lyrical songs of Israel with their literary legacy, The Poets' Book of Psalms comprises renditions of the Psalms by twenty-five renowned poets from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. Poets include John Donne, Robert Burns, John Milton, Sir Philip Sidney, John Davies, Sir Thomas Wyatt, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Mary Sidney Herbert, David Rosenberg, and Laurance Wieder. The result--a complete and lyrical Psalter for the modern reader--supplies a living language alternative to existing prose translations and pious paraphrases. The collection includes an introduction by the editor that describes the often surprising history and politics surrounding many of the poets lives and work. For easy cross-reference in meditation and prayer, the King James Version of the Psalms is also incorporated. Wieder separates The Poets' Book of Psalms into five parts in accordance with the Midrash tradition that also identifies the ten types of Psalms: glory, melody, Psalm, song, praise, prayer, blessing, thanksgiving, Hallelujah, and exultation. All one hundred and fifty poetically interpreted Psalms speak to the three religious traditions that hold the Bible sacred--Judaism, Christianity, and Islam--and provide endless enjoyment for lovers of poetry. Bringing together the brightest poetic musings, The Poets' Book of Psalms is a unique modern alternative to existing English versions of the Bibles Psalms.


From the Publisher
Twenty-five poets render the Bible's most beautiful and inspirational religious poetry into a complete and lyrical Psalter.

FROM THE PUBLISHER