Carl Winderl has established himself as America's preeminent Marian poet. His latest work, The Lost Parables of Jesus, is a rich collection of new and insightful poems, all of which are narrated by Mary. As one accompanies Jesus on his final journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, the reader is provided with both a telescope (to view beyond familiar stories) and a microscope (to view many of the smallest details). Both perspectives, filtered through the lens of Mary's mind and heart, afford a rich poetic and spiritual experience. Grab a cup of coffee or tea, find a comfortable chair, and take your time to read and "listen" to these poems.
-John C. Bowling, President of Olivet Nazarene University, author of Graceful Leadership, ReVision, Making the Climb, Above All Else, A Way with Words, and Lake Cora Haiku
With The Lost Parables of Jesus Carl Winderl furthers the quest for understanding he undertook in his previous collection, The Gospel According to . . . Mary. These exquisitely crafted poems present a series of "parables" that expand on those in Biblical scripture by casting outward in their substance and form. For example, there is the prodigal daughter, an inclusionary retelling of the "wanton" child story, which returns us to the timeless declaration of unconditional love: "for this my daughter/ was dead, and is/ alive again;/ she was lost, and is found;/ she once was a slave/ and is now set free." Winderl's vision is iconoclastic-not a total rending of old cloth but a radicalism that faith and belief can bear. With their hard-won insights and inspired wordplay, these poems don't shy back from the broken world (which one imagines their author has seen much of in recent years with his mission work in war zones). The world is present here in all of its (at times) grim "is-ness" but the pith of the two-thousand-year-old message endures, and this book, even in its dark reimaginings, is still devoted to making a joyful noise.
-David Daniel, author of Beach Town, a collection of stories; prize-winning author and contributing editor of the Laurel Review
Carl Winderl continues his imaginative exploration of the Mother of Jesus' poetic ruminations on her Son's Life, ministry, and redemptive death. In this his fifth book of Marian poetry, Winderl has Mary recalling several of Jesus's "lost parables" spoken to followers, assorted hangers-on, and detractors during His final pilgrimage from Galilee, through Samaria and Judea, to Jerusalem. Winderl's poetic vision features a divine storyteller on that fateful journey who frequently pauses and gazes at His often-uncomprehending listeners. But the voice is Mary's, who beholds her Son and ponders His words. This is a rich poetic pilgrimage that prompts the reader to likewise ponder, gaze, behold, and ponder.
-Donald A. Yerxa, author, co-author, and past editor of two journals: Historically Speaking and Fides et Historia