Anne Porter

And a Book Reveal!!

The other day I opened a book that I have opened many times: a collection of poems by renowned Catholic poet, Anne Porter. I have read and felt moved by the poems over and over again, but I did something different this time. As I rested before bed, I opened the foreword that I’d never read before. I kicked myself for having never bothered to read it, because it inspired me almost as much as the poems themselves did. I’ve taken many of the lines from the foreword and patched them together in a poem (typically called a cento poem) because I think we can learn a lot about how God wants us to live through the example of Porter.

“Anne Porter is one of those rare poets who believes enough, who lives in days and holidays, and who has found a language to transmit her Franciscan joy in created things” -David Shapiro

She takes the side of things, of living things, and the creator

She is unembarrassed by the ordinary

Her faith has enlarged her, not in reverse

and her poetry has the grandeur of seeing things as if for the first time

She has the quality of paying attention to ultimate reality

She also knows… that ultimate reality is in everything and not lurking behind it

She takes the side of flowers, and is ‘beyond flowers’

Her greatest emotional perspective is that of praise

These poems are as powerful as secrets.

Designed for families, the poems selected demonstrate how the natural seasons mirror the spiritual seasons we experience in our lives.

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Anne Porter encompasses the life I want to live; she was a wife and mother to five children who lived her Vocation day in and day out at home. The world would call her life ordinary, but Porter would disagree because of the lens faith gave her. I want to see God in every detail of creation like she did. Everyone deserves to see the world the way that the best, faithful poets do. That is why I created my next book:

Kickstarter launching 08-25-2026

Divine World is an illustrated anthology of poems that highlight God’s presence in nature through the seasons. Designed for families, the poems selected demonstrate how the natural seasons mirror the spiritual seasons we experience in our lives.

To check out the pre-launch page of the campaign, click here!

This is a much bigger fundraising goal than my last book, but I feel confident that this project is in God’s hands. As always, I am grateful for everyone who has supported me so far, and I hope to put this book in your homes soon!

Through Christ,

Stephanie Petters