Giving Voice to the infamous, the famous and the invisible women of the Bible

"Where’s Waldo?" was an immensely popular children’s book some 25-years ago.  Its popularity was due to its hide and seek format; the reader had to search among a thousand miniature figures on each page in order to find Waldo.  I remember how often the students in my library would proclaim with delight,  “Here he is!”  Sad, many Bible readers could have the same delightful discovery with just a little effort in listening for the voices of the many women of the Bible.

To be sure, there are a number of women who do speak:  Mary, Elizabeth, mother of the sons of Zebedee.  But what of the invisible women like King David’s mother, the wife of the father of a very prodigal son and the mother of St. John the evangelist?  Who were these women, really?  And those who did speak, what else might they have said if given the opportunity?

My book, she: robed and wordless began some 30 some years ago when I was teaching in Brownsville.  Slowly the women stepped out of the shadows and on to paper; as they did, they found their way into magazines.  Fast forward to the publication of a poem I had written on loss and grief in After Shocks: The Poetry of Recovery for Life-Shattering Events.  I decided to make a courtesy call to the anthology’s editor, Tom Lombardo. During the conversation, he asked with more than a bit of curiosity, “Have you published a book of poetry?”  And the rest is poetic history.

Two of the women are shady ladies and are among my favorites.  Rahab knows a good deal when she sees one in offering to help Joshua’s spies uncovering “who was who in the city.”  Then there was the woman who washed Jesus’ feet.  This poem gives her a voice after the resurrection.  Due to her occupation she is masculine savvy, however, she has continued to ponder her encounter with Jesus: “there was more fragrance in my tears/ . . . more than i gave/to any man.”

After Tom cajoled me into writing more (“You want how many?” I managed to squeak out.), I went into overdrive.  That is, I was on my own religious quest.  I read Scripture commentaries and sought out how the great painters interpreted various story lines.  I read and reread the Biblical texts; sifting through the various clues the sacred author had included and to make sure I was being faithful to the text.  Thus, Judith the heroine became Judith the widow folding the clothes of her beloved husband who had recently died.

I also gave voice the infamous and the cunning.  The daughter of Herodias known as Salome to many was also masculine savvy so she will toy with a ruler’s weakness.  Bathsheba is cunning to the point that “my hands will as eyes/ that watch an evening unthrone my king.”

At the end of the book is the Notes section where all the poems have their Biblical references.  Consequently, she: robed and wordless could be a way to enter the world of the Bible through the eyes of women. 

If you are interested in expanding your spiritual reading of the Bible via she: robed and wordless, you are invited to a book signing at Books Ink on Sept. 10 from 1 to 4 p.m.  The store is located in the Crescent Shopping Center in Portland close to Wildcat Drive.  The price of the book is $16. 

I know the women would be happy to meet you.