Practicing Silence

This book of poems is about the spiritual life and is organized according to a monastic logic. The compact and powerful language speaks to the lifelong Christian or to the spiritual seeker.

“Practicing Silence bears every evidence of a poet who has done precisely that, and bespeaks monastic experience with true authenticity. The poetry emerges from a mind given over to the One hidden in silence.” -Brother Paul Quenon ocso, poet, author of Unquiet Vigil: New & Selected Poems

“Bonnie Thurston’s entire Practicing Silence allows that Light abides in the core, yet there is darkness always in the edges. The recognition of such encroachment gives this pure and intense collection an added sense of urgency. These holy verses will draw us inexorably in.” -Sofia M. Starnes, Poet Laureate of Virginia, 2012–2014

“With masterly craft and authentic voice, Thurston offers us poems that both challenge and comfort, that dance on the living waters of wisdom and offer a midrash of insight for our tempestuous world. Practicing Silence is a brilliant and most welcome offering!” -Dr. Michael S. Glaser, Professor Emeritus, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Poet Laureate of Maryland, 2004–2009

“The old desert monks insisted that staying in one’s cell would teach you everything. Bonnie Thurston shares, in finely crafted language, what she has learned in these deeply contemplative poems welling up from her own solitude. It is sheer grace to receive the fruit of her own spiritual journey.” -Lawrence S. Cunningham, The University of Notre Dame

Formerly a professor of New Testament, Bonnie Thurston is a poet and spiritual director who lives quietly in her home state of West Virginia. She also writes theological works and travels to give lectures and retreats.