Meditations of Anselam: Letters from an Elder Teacher

David E. Kemp is professor emeritus of drama at Queen’s University.

David C. Jones, who began teaching in 1966, received the President’s
Circle Award for Teaching Excellence at the University of Calgary. He
has written or edited more than 30 books.

The “Anselam” of this book’s title is a mouthpiece for the
author’s own beliefs. Jones has described Anselam as “a composite
character embedded in my lifetime of experience and reading. He is like
a higher self with memories and insights born of joy and sorrow, of
error and delight, with a mind turned now toward the light.” In
letters that serve as meditations, the Anselam character corresponds
with two beginning teachers named Alma and Arn.

The letters are witty and ring with the belief of a deeply committed
educator. At the same time, Anselam’s reflections on the power of
belief, the dangers of cynicism and fear, the importance of
relationships, and the pre-eminence of love are remarkably free from
pomposity and cant. Jones uses simple narratives, parables, metaphors,
and dramas to express the book’s underlying motif that humanity’s
greatest need is to connect with a deeper wisdom in order to create a
more loving world.