Luci Shaw (born December 29, 1928) is a Christian writer of poetry and essays.

Background

Shaw was born on December 29, 1928, in England. Her parents were medical missionaries, and she lived in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

before moving to the United States to attend

Wheaton College, Illinois Wheaton College is a private Evangelical Christian liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois. It was founded by evangelical abolitionists in 1860. Wheaton College was a stop on the Underground Railroad and graduated one of Illinois' first bl ...

. Shaw graduated from Wheaton in 1953 with high honors. Shaw became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1995. Shaw is now Writer in Residence at

Regent College Regent College is an interdenominational evangelical Christian College of Christian studies, and an affiliated college of the University of British Columbia, located next to the university's campus in the University Endowment Lands west of V ...

, Vancouver. She lectures on art and spirituality, the Christian imagination, poetry-writing, and journaling as an aid to artistic and spiritual growth. She has published ten volumes of poetry (several still in print) and numerous

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

books, and has edited and collaborated on multiple other works, including several with Madeleine L'Engle. Her poems are widely anthologized.Shaw, Luci
Biography
Accessed October 16, 2007. Shaw usually works in

free verse Free verse is an open form of poetry, which in its modern form arose through the French ''vers libre'' form. It does not use consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any musical pattern. It thus tends to follow the rhythm of natural speech. Definit ...

, and typically her poems are quite short, less than a page. Nevertheless, in tone and content, she affiliates most readily with the transcendental poets, often finding in natural details and themes the touch of the eternal or other-worldly. She is a charter member of the Chrysostom Society, an organization of published writers which "serves the Christian community by promoting the development of quality literature." Shaw married Harold Shaw and had five children: Robin, Marian, John, Jeffrey, and Kristin. Shaw and her husband started a publishing house, Harold Shaw Publishers, in the basement of their home in 1972. After Harold died from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

in 1986, Shaw became president of Harold Shaw Publishers. Stephen Board became owner of Harold Shaw Publishers in 1990 and sold it to

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

WaterBrook Press Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

in 2000. Shaw married John Hoyte in 1991. They are members of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (locat ...

, where they currently live.

Selected works

Poetry

*''Listen to the Green'' (1973) *''The Secret Trees'' (1976) *''The Sighting'' (1981) *''Postcard from the Shore'' (1986) *''Writing the River'' (1994) *''The Angles of Light'' (2000) *''The Green Earth'' (2002) *''Water Lines'' (2003) *''Polishing the Petoskey Stone'' (2003) *''What the Light Was Like'' (2006) *''Accompanied by Angels'' (2006) *''Harvesting Fog'' (2010) *''Scape'' (2013) *''Thumbprint in the Clay'' (2016) *''Sea Glass'' (2016) *''Eye of the Beholder'' (2019) *''The Generosity'' (2020)

Non-fiction

*''Colossians: Focus on the Cross'' Fisherman Bible Studyguides (1982) *''God in the Dark: Through Grief and Beyond'' (1989) *''Life Path: Personal And Spiritual Growth through Journal Writing'' (1991) *''Horizons: Exploring Creation'' with Timothy Botts (1992) *''Friends for the Journey'' with Madeleine L'Engle (1997) *''Water My Soul: Cultivating the Interior Life;'' foreword by

Eugene Peterson Eugene Hoiland Peterson (November 6, 1932 – October 22, 2018) was an American Presbyterian minister, scholar, theologian, author, and poet. He wrote over 30 books, including the Gold Medallion Book Award–winner '' The Message: The Bible in ...

(2003) *''WinterSong: Christmas Readings'' with Madeleine L'Engle (2004) *''The Crime of Living Cautiously: Hearing God's Call to Adventure'' (2005) *''Adventure of Ascent: Field Notes from a Lifelong Journey'' (2014)

Use in music

A number of Shaw's works have been set to music, by a variety of composers: * Alan Cline used "God in the Dark" as the basis for a

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

. *

Knut Nystedt Knut Nystedt (3 September 1915 – 8 December 2014) was a Norwegian orchestral and choral composer. Early life Nystedt was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway, and grew up in a Christian home where hymns and classical music were an important ...

(Norwegian composer) did a setting for "Mary's Song", sung and recorded by the Elektra Choir of

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia, Canada and appears on their album, ''Child of Grace''. *

Alice Parker Alice Parker (born December 16, 1925) is an American composer, arranger, conductor, and teacher. She has authored five operas, eleven song-cycles, thirty-three cantatas, eleven works for chorus and orchestra, forty-seven choral suites, and ...

(American) set three of Shaw's poems for a song cycle. * Frederick Frahm (American) composed settings for

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

and

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

for three of Shaw's poems, "Star Song," "Down He Came From Up," and "Heart Stable". Frahm also composed a Cantata for Michaelmas based on Shaw's poem “Angel Vision" and a Christmas Cantata (“From East to West”) based on texts by Shaw. * Ed Henderson (Canadian) composed a choral setting for "Star Song". * Roland Fudge (English) composed a choral setting for "One", "Celestial Light", and "Steadfast Taper".

References

External links

Luci Shaw's website

Luci Shaw on Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Luci 1928 births Living people Anglican poets Christian poets American Episcopalians Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni Writers from London Christian writers British emigrants to the United States