Seeking

"The writings in Seeking celebrate the visionary art of Jonathan Green, a member of the Gullah culture whose body of work affirms the sacred and the spiritual as spaces that are alive. In the Gullah culture, a pilgrimage into the world of nature evokes God's presence in the dreams of the seeker, and the poems and prose works in this collection celebrate that journey, that faith, and that hope. Inspired by Green, the writers in this collection take us back time and again to the sacred place in our interiors. The world of nature is a dwelling place for the divine that lives both inside us and outside of us. The dangers lie everywhere, according to Green's work, but so do the signals of how to cherish the ways of being that account for resilience. This is a tender collection marked by what inspired it, an abiding faith in the beauty of what is in the woods and the truthfulness of what the woods are."—Afaa Michael Weaver, Simmons College

"Art is as necessary as wine to our happiness. Each has a special place and, properly used, makes our days more gentle, our touch more loving, our loving more perfect. Jonathan Green and poems are challenge and caress; query and conclusion; that which is sought and SEEKING. We bath in and drink this water. We watch it unfurl. It is so refreshing. We exhale."—Nikki Giovanni, poet

"This book demonstrates the inherent power of one painting to communicate universal feelings and experiences that unite us all. Jonathan Green's infectious excitement for the arts and his passion for collaboration are embodied by this project. His painting Seeking deeply touches everyone who sees it, and the stories and poems created in response articulate much of this shared experience. . . . By bringing people together in celebration, once again Jonathan reminds us that we are not alone on our spiritual journey."—Marjory Wentworth, from the preface

"The epiphany between Father Kline of Mepkin Abbey and Jonathan Green of Gardens Corner is expressed by a vibrant poetic community. Journey with this spiritual tribe in seeking a verbal response to Jonathan's elegant painting."—Mary Edna Fraser, artist