In the old days poets who were not wealthy would often seek the resources of a rich patron to support their poetic work. In return for such patronage the poet would write poems on behalf of the patron for various occassions like birthdays and other celebrations. Many nations continue the tradition of poetic patronage in the form of appointing a poet laureate to perform this function on behalf of the nation. Canada’s current poet laureate is Pierre DesRuisseaux, a Quebec poet.

 

Now on to my shameless request for patronage: as a poet, pastor and self-described armchair theologian I have come to desire a particular series of books…that is the recently retranslated study edition of theologian Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics. You may view the series in all of its glory here –

 

 

Sadly due to the strenuous amount of work translating theology from German to English and adding copious study notes the cost of the 31-volume softcover series is $738 US (through Amazon.com – http://www.amazon.com/Church-Dogmatics-vols-Karl-Barth/dp/056702279X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256750677&sr=1-2 ). Now as financially lucrative as the roles of poet, pastor and armchair theologian are, the combined remuneration of all still falls sadly short of attaining to the goal of purchasing such a series.

 

Should you, dear reader, wish to patronize me (in the good way) by contributing to the purchase of Church Dogmatics all I can provide in return is a commitment to write or speak on your behalf (as well as maintaining a generally cheery disposition for a good while to come). I would be pleased to write poetry for personal occassions or commit to studying and writing and/or speaking about areas of theology that are of interest to you.

 

Thanks for your consideration – for the first time in my life I look forward to being patronized.