The Soul's Refinement Author:David Novak The Soul's Refinement opens a window into the preoccupations of an iconoclastic mind and a compassionate spirit. Roaming a vast landscape of ideas, the poems explore topics that are controversial and interconnected in unexpected ways. From Africa to the Americas, from tribal sexual customs to polygamy, from agape to eros, from Mohammed to Jesus ... more »to the Tao; they fearlessly mine the paradoxes of the human experience. Like essays written in traditional verse form, they form a fascinating compendium of one man's unorthodox world view. With trenchant insight and unsparing integrity, they offer a valid alternative to mainstream thought. There are thinking poems and then there are feeling poems. Anguished yet compelling, this is a Job for the modern age. Thrown into the crucible of life, the poet is transformed by the vicissitudes of life. In gritty, lacerating verses, he harangues against his God and ponders the duality of sin and redemption. Indeed, this is a firestorm of the soul. Written with candor and a ferocious grace, these poems comprehend what it means to be fully human; living and loving against the odds of our mortal fragility.« less