What Has Been Left Behind (My first collection of poems) and a podcast

This month saw the release of my first collection of poems, What Has Been Left Behind.

Some of them have been published before in print or online, but this was a gathering of some of what I’ve written over the past few years into one collection.

Most of the poems in the book are centered around my first years of pastoral ministry in Saint John, New Brunswick, and the attendant joys and challenges of that ministry, along with some of the experiences of family life.

I was grateful for the kind endorsement from Archbishop David Edwards, my previous diocesan and Archbishop of the Province of Canada:

“Cole Hartin’s poems deal with matters which lie at the heart of our lives: the joys and sorrows of the day to day and the struggles we have in aligning our faith with the demands of life. They are insightful and lead us to the deeper places of our soul.”

And also for the kind words from Joel Lawrence, the President of the Center for Pastor Theologians.

“Cole Hartin’s poetry arises from the soul of a pastor-poet. This collection models a pastoral imagination reflecting on the great and the small, the eternal and the temporal. Too often today, pastors are trained to be technicians who easily lose a sense of wonder. Hartin’s poetry demonstrates a way of shepherding that is rooted in the art of pastoral ministry.”

These poems mean a lot to me, and I’m glad to have them out in the world. I am proud of the collection, though sorry to have a found a post-publication typo! Mea culpa!

If you are interested in getting yourself a copy, the best way is to get one from me locally, or you can purchase from the publisher, or from Amazon.com

On another note, this month also saw the release of a podcast interview on preaching with the Center for Pastor Theologians. I was able to reflect on the theology of preaching in the Anglican tradition, and also share snippets of a sermon from the Feast of Epiphany.

You can listen to it here.