An literary anthology of writing about time, organised by time of day.

Thomas Merton was the most popular proponent of the Christian contemplative tradition in the twentieth century. Now, for the first time, some of his most lyrical and prayerful writings have been arranged into A Book of Hours, a rich resource for daily prayer and contemplation that imitates the increasingly popular ancient monastic practice of "praying the hours." Editor Kathleen Deignan mined Merton's voluminous writings, arranging prayers for Dawn, Day, Dusk, and Dark for each of the days of the week. A Book of Hours allows for a slice of monastic contemplation in the midst of hectic modern life, with psalms, prayers, readings, and reflections.

Castle Priory is a crumbling Oxfordshire mansion, one Brian Blackstone's wife considered a place of extraordinary enchantment. But for Brian there is no enchantment, only the burden of trying to honor Sarah's dying wish that he hold onto the property. With the local doctor, Cecilia Keeble, Brian begins to explore the mysteries of the old estate. In the process he discovers a medieval secret which offers a key to renew his spirit and heal his broken heart. The power of prayer reaches through the centuries in a surprising and mysterious way…

A miniature edition of some of the most exquisite medieval manuscripts.

William Storey, compiler of some of the best-loved prayer books of our time, has selected the most beautiful elements from the full Liturgy of the Hours and other sources to create a simpler book for Morning and Evening Prayer. Intended for individuals and groups who want to taste the venerable tradition of using scripture to offer praise, thanksgiving and intercessions at dawn and sunset, this new book provides a four-week cycle of prayer. Each "hour" includes a psalm, a canticle and a brief reading from the Old or New Testament, interspersed with prayers that echo the biblical poetry. An introduction explains how to use the book, and supplementary sections offer an order for night prayer, basic prayers, hymns and additional scripture readings.

Marianne Boruch's patience "allows her to see what is there with a jeweler's sense of facet and flaw" (Poetry magazine).

A decade after the sudden and tragic loss of his father, we witness the unfolding of grief. “In the night I brush / my teeth with a razor,” he tells us, in one of the collection’s piercing two-line poems. Capturing the strange silence of bereavement (“Not the storm / but the calm / that slays me”), Kevin Young acknowledges, even celebrates, life’s passages, his loss transformed and tempered in a sequence about the birth of his son: in “Crowning,” he delivers what is surely one of the most powerful birth poems written by a man, describing “her face / full of fire, then groaning your face / out like a flower, blood-bloom,/ crocused into air.” Ending this book of both birth and grief, the gorgeous title sequence brings acceptance, asking “What good/are wishes if they aren’t / used up?” while understanding “How to listen / to what’s gone.” Young’s frank music speaks directly to the reader in these elemental poems, reminding us that the right words can both comfort us and enlarge our understanding of life’s mysteries.