Burning Bush

Melanie Marttila is a Sudbury-based freelance writer and writing
consultant.

In Burning Bush, Elizabeth Brewster brings her sensibilities—finely
honed over the course of 17 other collections of poetry and a writing
career spanning nearly 60 years—to bear on the Old Testament. Brewster
can write of spiritual matters without climbing onto the New Age
soapbox. She can write about Moses, Jacob, Joseph, and the Book of
Genesis without ascending the pulpit.

In Part 1, “Invocation of Angels,” Brewster muses about death,
dying, reincarnation, and angels, often drawing upon the words of other
writers (Rilke, Shelley, Pope, Roberts, Hughes). Part 2, “In the
Beginning,” concerns itself with Genesis to Joseph; it begins with a
poem for each of the seven days of the creation and ends with a sonnet
entitled “Reconciliation.” Part 3, “Mosaic,” is about Moses,
while the final section, “Mosaic of Dreams,” deals with Brewster’s
own dreams. This beautifully written collection is highly recommended
for libraries focusing on poetry and women writers as well as on
religious studies.