{"product_id":"the-secret-gospel-of-mark-spencer-reece-9781644210420","title":"The Secret Gospel of Mark: A Poet's Memoir","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn exquisite memoir of a life saved by poetry.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"This is a portrait of the artist, narrated by a priest and a poet and a gay man with tenderness and searing honesty. Spencer Reece weaves the poetry he loves into how he has lived, the poetry as solace and relief, as confirmation and rescue, as redemption.\" --Colm To兊匤\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe Secret Gospel of Mark is a powerful dynamo of a story that delicately weaves the author's experiences with an appreciation for seven great literary touchstones: Elizabeth Bishop, Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickinson, James Merrill, Mark Strand, George Herbert, and Gerard Manley Hopkins. In speaking to the beauty these poets' works inspire in him, Reece finds the beauty of his own life's journey, a path that runs from coming of age as a gay teenager in the 1980s, Yale, alcoholism, a long stint as a Brooks Brothers salesman, Harvard Divinity School, and leads finally to hard-won success as a poet, reconciliation with his family, and the fulfillment of finding his life's work as an Episcopal priest. Reece's writing approaches the truth and beauty of the writers who have influenced him; elliptical and direct, always beautifully rendered.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Spencer Reece\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1644210428\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781644210420\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Seven Stories Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/16\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 416\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.10lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.30h x 5.60w x 1.50d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/01\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/01\/2021 pg. 11","brand":"Spencer Reece","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44046110458111,"sku":"9781644210420","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_02ff7601-621e-443c-9fce-df63d0641159.jpg?v=1684982689","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-secret-gospel-of-mark-spencer-reece-9781644210420","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}