Seven Last Words - Softcover

Christ’s final words from the cross—the seven sayings from the Gospels—have a compelling resonance. They have been pondered anew throughout the millennia by Christians and non-Christians alike the world over. Forged within the crucible of suffering, they have the capacity to awaken, to transform our way of beholding God and one another. In Seven Last Words, poet and pastor Terry Minchow-Proffitt gives us seven poems based on these sayings, along with an in-depth interview with Mud Season Review. With brevity that begs to be savored, Seven Last Words renders a powerful portal into the love that continues to radiate during the darkest of times. “These are some of the most profoundly meaningful poems I have read in a long time—as a Jew, as a poet, as a citizen of the planet—because of the way in which they meet, head-on, the conflict between devotion and rebellion when it comes to Christ.” ~From the Foreword by poet Matthew Lippman (The New Year of Yellow, Monkey Bars, American Chew, Salami Jew) “There is no generic language for grief, anger, or hope. That’s what is so refreshing about this collection of poems. It takes us back to the cross . . .” ~From the Afterword by theologian Belden Lane (The Solace of Fierce Landscapes, Landscapes of the Sacred, Ravished by Beauty, Backpacking with the Saints)

Terry Minchow-Proffitt is a retired pastor who lives in St. Louis, Missouri. He was raised in the Mississippi Delta of eastern Arkansas, and continues to be inspired by his native land and its people. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Arkansas Review, Big Muddy, Christian Century, decomP magazine, Deep South Magazine, Desert Call, Freshwater, Hash, Mud Season Review, OVS Magazine, Oxford Magazine, Penwood Review, Pisgah Review, Prick of the Spindle, St. Ann’s Review, Tower Journal, Valparaiso Poetry Review, Wild Violet, Words and Images Journal and The Write Room. Minchow-Proffitt received degrees in Philosophy from Arkansas State University and Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary. He has done further graduate study in English at the University of Mississippi and in Christian Spirituality at Washington Theological Union. He received certification in Spiritual Direction from The Haden Institute.