When All Else Fails: Poetic Wisdom
Ebook
Overview
When All Else Fails is a book of poetic reflections that taps into the hopes and anxieties of a humanity that is no longer as self-assured as it once was. Marked by a pandemic and loss of faith in our political systems, the workplace, and the faith community, we are all struggling for a surer pathway for our feet. While When All Else Fails is no cheap recipe for recovery, it does provide a deep probe for finding a way forward through new heart attitudes that will shape a gentler world.
“Throwing a poem to drowning people seems ridiculous. But when
people are struggling with meaninglessness, it might be just the
thing. And Charles Ringma’s poetry is compressed wisdom,
extracted—indeed, wrung—out of his own life. And wisdom is what we
need—practical insight on flourishing. There are hints of eternity
and faith in God in this alphabet of everyday life. As Ringma says,
‘We are struck not by a hand, but by a whisper.’”
—R. Paul Stevens, Professor emeritus, Regent College
“As Charles Ringma points out, ‘Love needs its inner resources.’
These poems of wounded yet glorious hope are such a resource. Drink
deeply from the tender and bracing waters of this restorative well
and be humbled and refreshed.”
—Paul Tyson, Senior Honorary Fellow, Institute for Advanced Studies
in the Humanities, University of Queensland
“In his poetry, Charles helps make sense of my lived experience but
in a way I found I could relate to. . . . I found it
resonated with the paradoxes that I find myself living with.”
—Justin Duckworth, Anglican Bishop of Wellington
Charles R. Ringma has taught in universities, seminaries, and
colleges in Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and Canada. He
is Emeritus Professor, Regent College, UBC, Vancouver; Honorary
Research Fellow, Trinity College Queensland, and Professor in the
Asian Theological Seminary’s PhD program, Metro Manila. He is a
Franciscan Tertiary (tssf), works for social justice and
plants rainforest trees. His many books include Seek the
Silences with Thomas Merton and Hear the Ancient
Wisdom.