Poems & Counsels on Prayer and Contemplation, by Dame Gertrude More

Dame Gertrude More was only 17 years old in 1623 when she became one of the founders of a convent in France. Despite her youth and early death, she is a key figure in the revitalization of English Benedictine life and an important link between medieval and modern western contemplative traditions, not least due to her writing: she was one of the earliest women writers printed in the English language. This new edition of her work shows a powerful, rare voice from the early modern cloister, speaking with wisdom of the contemplative life and the mysteries of the human soul. Jacob Riyeff is a translator, poet, and scholar who teaches in the English department at Marquette University.