Christianity Today Book Award in Culture, Poetry, and the Arts (2025)
Have you ever read a book that turned your world upside down? What about a poem?
Poetry has the power to enliven, challenge, change, and enrich our lives. But it can also feel intimidating, confusing, or simply “not for us.” In these joyful and wise reflections, Abram Van Engen shows readers how poetry is for everyone—and how it can reinvigorate Christian faith.
Intertwining close readings with personal storytelling, Van Engen explains how and why to read poems as a spiritual practice. Far from dry, academic instruction, his approach encourages readers to delight in poetry, even as they come to understand its form. He also opens up the meaning of poetry and parables in Scripture, revealing the deep connection between literature and theology.
Word Made Fresh is more than a guide to poetry—it’s an invitation to wonder, to speak up, to lament, to praise. Including dozens of poems from diverse authors, this book will inspire curious and thoughtful readers to see God and God’s creation in surprising new ways.
Reviews
“What a brilliant, humane, intelligent, and necessary book. Abram Van Engen is an ideal guide through the art of poetry and has written that rare book that can speak to both the novice and the expert.” Christian Wiman, Yale Divinity School, author of Zero at the Bone and Every Riven Thing
“I’ve been waiting for someone to write this book. Sensitive to newcomers and even skeptics, Abram Van Engen is a warm, wise, generous guide into the manifold gifts poetry offers. A master teacher and thoughtful scholar, Van Engen writes as a fellow human, a pilgrim on the way with us, sharing his experiences with poetry to entice us to find our own.” James K. A. Smith, Calvin University, author of You Are What You Love and How to Inhabit Time
“We need poetry more than ever. In our moment in history, words have often been rendered cheap, combative, and manipulative. But poetry calls us back to the beauty, depth, and power of careful, crafted words. A gifted teacher and writer, Abram Van Engen is a deft guide for those new to poetry and those who have enjoyed it for decades.” Tish Harrison Warren, author of Liturgy of the Ordinary and Prayer in the Night
“This is a book to savor. With total understanding of our wariness, Van Engen graciously ushers us into the world of poetry and makes us feel at home there.” Cornelius Plantinga, Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, author of Morning and Evening Prayers
About the author
Abram Van Engen is Stanley Elkin Professor in the Humanities and chair of the English Department at Washington University in St. Louis. His other books include Sympathetic Puritans and City on a Hill: A History of American Exceptionalism. Passionate about teaching poetry to a wider audience, he also cohosts the podcast Poetry for All with Joanne Diaz and directs the Carver Project, a Christian nonprofit that aims to connect university, church, and society.