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THE PASSION OF JOHN ELIOT · MICHAEL MCINNIS
$12.50
FLY COTTON CHAPBOOK SERIES 1
John Eliot, the “apostle to the Indians”, translated the King James Bible into the Algonquin language. Told from Eliot’s perspective, The Passion of John Eliot speaks to his strengths and weaknesses as both a preacher and a man.
| Weight | 4 oz |
|---|
Read excerpts
to call ye from this wilderness,
from this half-formed civilization,
from this city divided on
three hills, an isthmus,
a sea of drumlins
and clam beds,
a naked spit of land,
where,
despite my petitions,
the Indians were left
under God’s care,
without Up-Biblum God
that we had printed in their tongue,
not realizing, perhaps not caring,
that their language was oral.
And yet Samuel Green,
Marmaduke Johnson
and I, with the assistance of
James our Indian
apprentice printer
furthered our endeavor
to bring forth
the Word of God
for Hee is the author of Scripture,
such that the voyce of God,
the majesty, glory,
and holyness of His truth
would shine forth upon this forest
and wash away the darkness there
with the purest Spiritual milk,
would feed the Spirit
of the Indian with Bibles
the color of Black Flame –
the exquisite poverty of the inks,
the texture of hemp paper –
translating
air,
translating
water,
translating
stone,
translating
the Word
with
an alphabet
of pain.
About the Author
Michael McInnis lives in Boston and served in the Navy chasing white whales and Soviet submarines. His poetry and short fiction has appeared in Chiron Review, Cream City Review, Naugatuck Review, Oxford Magazine, Unlikely Stories and Yellow Chair Review to name a few. His third book, Secret Histories, was published by Cervená Barva Press.
Copyright © 2020 Michael McInnis
Cover design by d’Entremont
ISBN 978-1-949279-14-6
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.
