Reflections and Insights

A.J. Pell is the rector of Holy Trinity Cathedral, Diocese of New
Westminster, British Columbia.

Reflections and Insights is not a book, but a collection of relatively
short pieces (most are 5 to 10 pages long), almost all written in the
1970s and 1980s. No hint, much less specific statement, is given to
indicate where (or even if) each was originally published. All we are
told is that the author, James Perkin, is a biblical scholar who is
President and Vice-Chancellor of Acadia University.

This book is divided into six sections—People, Bible Translators and
Their Work, Hymns and Hymnwriters, Studies, Reviews and Sermons. Most of
the pieces are found in the first three sections, and they lean toward
simple biography. The “studies” are mostly speeches rather than
academic papers. The two reviews are book reviews of the two volumes of
Margaret Avison’s poetry published by Lancelot Press. In short, this
is a rather unusual collection, given its cohesion only by the
biographic nature of most of its entries.

Unfortunately, there is little here to inspire or educate the reader.
The writing can best be described as wooden. The biographic material
could be easily obtained from an encyclopedia. The sermons lack a note
of either inspiration or immediacy. In the end it raises a single
question—why was it ever published?