Several anthologies of religious poetry have been published by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

''Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse'' (1917)

The ''Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse'' was a

poetry anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and ge ...

edited by Daniel Howard Sinclair Nicholson and Arthur Hugh Evelyn Lee, and published in 1917 by the

. The compilation contains much religious verse, mainly from English Christian traditions, and some from other religions. Present are poems by

A. E. Waite Arthur Edward Waite (2 October 1857 – 19 May 1942) was a British poet and scholarly mystic who wrote extensively on occult and esoteric matters, and was the co-creator of the Rider–Waite Tarot (also called the Rider–Waite–Smith or Wai ...

and the young

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...

. Lee, an Anglican clergyman, associated with Waite. Nicholson later published a work on mysticism and St. Francis of Assisi. They both joined the

Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (), more commonly the Golden Dawn (), was a secret society devoted to the study and practice of occult Hermeticism and metaphysics during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Known as a magical order, ...

, Lee in 1908, and Nicholson in 1910;27 August 1910, taking the name Per deos ad Deum; Gilbert p.173. both were friends of Charles Williams. Eclecticism is shown by the presence of:

Alfred Gurney Alfred Gurney (1843 – 1898) was an English cleric and writer. Early life The second son of John Hampden Gurney, he was a brother of Edmund Gurney the psychic researcher. His father having died in 1862, the five children were brought up by Rus ...

, a clerical friend of

Christina Rossetti Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romanticism, romantic, devotional and children's poems, including "Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well k ...

;

Edward Carpenter Edward Carpenter (29 August 1844 – 28 June 1929) was an English utopian socialist, poet, philosopher, anthologist, an early activist for gay rights and prison reform whilst advocating vegetarianism and taking a stance against vivise ...

Fabian socialist The Fabian Society () is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. Th ...

and

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

; Frederic W. H. Myers, academic and

psychic researcher Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena (extrasensory perception, telepathy, teleportation, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry) and other paranormal claims, for example, those r ...

;

John Addington Symonds John Addington Symonds Jr. (; 5 October 1840 – 19 April 1893) was an English poet and literary critic. A cultural historian, he was known for his work on the Renaissance, as well as numerous biographies of writers and artists. Although mar ...

, aesthete; Walter Leslie Wilmshurst, writer on

freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

and Wagner;

Darrell Figgis Darrell Edmund Figgis (; 17 September 1882 – 27 October 1925) was an Irish people, Irish writer, Sinn Féin activist and independent parliamentarian in the Irish Free State. Early life Darrell Figgis was born at Glen na Smoil, Palmerstown Par ...

, better known as a novelist and

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

member;

George Santayana George Santayana (born Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952) was a Spanish-American philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist. Born in Spain, Santayana was raised and educated in the Un ...

, the philosopher; Fred G. Bowles who was a

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of History of music publishing, music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the American popular music, popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally ...

lyricist. The poets included in ''The Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse'' were:

''Oxford Book of Christian Verse'' (1940)

Edited by

Lord David Cecil Lord Edward Christian David Gascoyne-Cecil, CH (9 April 1902 – 1 January 1986) was a British biographer, historian, and scholar. He held the style of "Lord" by courtesy as a younger son of a marquess. Early life and studies David Cecil was ...

. Poets included were:

''New Oxford Book of Christian Verse'' (1981)

Edited by

Donald Davie Donald Alfred Davie, FBA (17 July 1922 – 18 September 1995) was an English Movement poet, and literary critic. His poems in general are philosophical and abstract, but often evoke various landscapes. Biography Davie was born in Barnsley, ...

. Poets included were:

Notes

{{reflist

External links

''The Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse (1917)'' online
at

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''The Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse (1917)'' online
a
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British poetry anthologies Religious books Religious poetry anthologies, Oxford Religious poetry 1917 poetry books 1940 poetry books 1981 poetry books