Psalms of Lament: Haikus of Hope
- Emma Major
- Jan 6
- 3 min read
Available now to download from Iona Books.
In the Psalms of Lament the ancient Psalmists brought their rawest grief, their deepest doubts and their most honest anger before God. In this moving collection, that same ‘holy grit’ is reimagined for the modern heart through the minimalist beauty of the haiku.
...
I don’t know about you, but it can be hard to eat breakfast, let alone get through a whole day, without feeling overwhelmed by the steady stream of bad news from around the world. We live in a fast-paced, media-connected society which bombards us with news of disasters, conflicts, injustices and anxiety-inducing politics. If I’m not careful, I start to absorb all the weight of the world, which then negatively impacts my mental health. To counteract this overload and help stay positive, I have developed a rhythm of prayer and creativity with the Bible every morning. Each morning I choose a Bible reading, often at random, and read it through several times to see what God might be saying to me through the ancient words. Inspired by the message of the piece of scripture, I then get creative with pictures, words or doodles, allowing God to inspire, soothe and bless me for the day ahead. This time each morning is never about writing a perfect poem or painting a perfect picture; it is about finding a point of peace at the start of the day where I can meet with God. I have used this daily practice of prayer, listening and creativity since 2020 and yet I am regularly surprised by a verse, passage or message that I don’t remember hearing before, that reminds me that God hears our prayers, that peace and justice are possible and that hope is alive and well in the world. Sometimes my morning creativity becomes something worth sharing online; sometimes it develops into a bigger idea, as is the case here. Over several years I have written a haiku for every psalm in the Bible, all 150 of them; there are also paintings which have evolved. I never imagined I would take on such a massive task, and would have said no if asked to tackle it, but it became a blessing to read and pray with the Psalms, to discover what they were saying to me and to allow this to flow out creatively.
As I started sharing my psalm haiku online I noticed that a poet friend, Jane Sigrist, was also writing haiku inspired by the Psalms. Jane will share her story of writing haiku inspired by the Psalms in the next section. Knowing that I wasn’t the only poet writing haiku based on the Psalms, I wondered if Jane might like to collaborate by bringing our haiku together to form a collection; she said yes – and the project commenced. Several months later I met another poet who was writing haiku, Amanda Holt. The idea of a trilogy of poets writing haiku from our three viewpoints really appealed to me. Amanda will share her story in the next section too. Fast forward to the end of 2024, and Jane, Amanda and I had created a collection of three haiku, one by each of us, for every psalm in the Bible. You will likely have noticed that this publication does not contain 450 haiku. This collection is the first in what we hope will be a series.
...
Born from the authors’ daily practice of prayer, listening and creativity, these poems strip away the noise to find the essence of lament. Whether you are navigating personal loss or the weight of a suffering world, these pages help create a space where it is safe to be real.
More than just something to read, this collection also invites you to discover your own creative voice, whether that be through words or some other form of expression.
Written by Emma Major, Jane Sigrist and Amanda Holt.
With beautiful colour illustrations by Emma Major.
Available to purchase now as an electronic download from Wild Goose Publications
Comments