For Bélanger, poetry is part of that practice; through her poems, she allows readers access to her world of faith: “I’m showing you part of mine // I write,” and in turn, she is able to reach God through her art. “Come close,” she writes in “The Traveling Bag”: “Do you see? Look how Louise is beautifully written on God’s palm.” But in Bélanger’s conceptualization of faith, it is not just her name written on God’s palm—it is everyone’s. As she writes in “I Matter to God,” “I matter to God // I matter to Jesus // Realize today // The same can be said // About you!”
Between each poem, Bélanger also includes stunning original photographs depicting floral portraits, idyllic landscapes, and other picturesque flora from all seasons, plus surprises like rain streaking on a window. There is a quiet, simple brilliance in each of them, and they show how Bélanger’s faith shapes the way she sees the world and the beauty she finds in it; each flower, and each petal in each flower, is a perfect creation of Bélanger’s God, and all of them deserve attention and appreciation. Readers seeking a multifaceted, thought-provoking, and visually engaging poetry experience based in faith will find abundance in Bélanger’s collection, which reminds the faithful that “We can choose // To be instrumental // To magnificent goodness.”
Takeaway: Gorgeous collection of nature photography and inspiring Christian poetry.
Comparable Titles: David Lyle Jeffrey’s “A Testament of Witness,” and Dana Gioia’s “Pity the Beautiful"
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: C+