Saint Thomas and the Forbidden Birds

In James Matthew Wilson’s fourth full-length collection of poems, the writer joins the great saint and theologian Thomas Aquinas to pause before ＂the thought of earthly sorrows＂ and to pray for ＂such a world that had so much to say.＂

These poems stand in wonder before the tumult and beauty of created things and the capacity of the soul to rise above it. We move from encounters with the world as revelation, mystery, and promise, to great scenes of sin and fracture such as the bombing of Dresden, the execution of the Roman philosopher Cicero, and scandals in the Church. The volume begins with the prospects for an unborn child soon to enter our stormy world and concludes with a ＂Farewell＂ to the place, home, and setting of many of these poems.

Saint Thomas and the Forbidden Birds is a story and pilgrimage through the troubles of our age and beyond them to the reason for our hope, ＂for all things turn about the love of God.＂

James Matthew Wilson is the Cullen Foundation Chair in English Literature and the founding director of the MFA in Creative Writing program at the University of Saint Thomas. The author of thirteen previous books, his collection of poems The Strangeness of the Good (2020) won the Catholic Media Awards prize for poetry. The Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture awarded him the Hiett Prize in 2017; Memoria College gave him the Parnassus Prize in 2022; and the Conference on Christianity and Literature twice gave him the Lionel Basney Award. He serves as Poet-in-Residence of the Benedict XVI Institute, Editor of Colosseum Books, and Poetry Editor of Modern Age magazine. He lives with his wife and five children in Grand Rapids, Michigan.