This book takes a probing look at how Spanish poets of the twentieth century read objects of visual art, write poems that utilize the discursive strategy known as ekphrasis, and how, in turn, they are read by those texts. As a result of their reading practices, the artistic works "read" by the poets are inscribed in the poets' own texts, and in a variety of ways. This analysis sheds light on the poets' own distinctive stance toward many primary issues, such as textuality, representation, language, power, ideology, literature, and art.

The early Christian church had a variety of Scriptures and other source material that informed their faith and shaped their thinking. But after a few centuries the church decided to keep the twenty-seven books of our present New Testament and to treat them as a canonical in faith and practice. But what of the other books? Many of them have survived and remain valuable for understanding the diversity of the early Christian church and the astounding claims of faith on which it was founded. Learning about these ancient documents need not threaten the church's current orthodoxy and authority; in fact, learning about these texts can help today's Christians form a deeper understanding of the early church.