Luci Shaw
British and American Christian poet and essayist (1928–2025)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Luci Shaw (December 29, 1928 – December 1, 2025) was a British and American Christian poet and essayist.[1]
Luci Shaw | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 29, 1928 England |
| Died | December 1, 2025 (aged 96) |
| Citizenship | American (naturalized 1995) |
| Alma mater | Wheaton (1953) |
| Occupations | Poet, essayist |
| Spouses |
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Life and career
Shaw was born in England on December 29, 1928.[2] Her parents were medical missionaries, and she lived in Canada and Australia before moving to the United States to attend Wheaton College, Illinois.[3] Shaw graduated from Wheaton in 1953 with high honors.[3][4]
She became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1995.[2]
Shaw was writer in residence at Regent College in Vancouver, Canada.[when?] She lectured on art and spirituality, Christian imagination, poetry writing, and journaling as an aid to artistic and spiritual growth.[5]
Shaw published 10 volumes of poetry (several still in print) and numerous non-fiction books. She also edited and collaborated on multiple other works, including several with Madeleine L'Engle.[6] Her poems are widely anthologized.[1] Shaw usually worked in free verse, and typically her poems are quite short and less than a page. Nevertheless, in tone and content, she affiliated most readily with the transcendental poets, often finding in natural details and themes the touch of the eternal or other-worldly.[citation needed]
Shaw was a charter member of the Chrysostom Society, an organization of published writers which "serves the Christian community by promoting the development of quality literature".[7]
Shaw married Harold Shaw and had five children; Robin, Marian, John, Jeffrey, and Kristin.[2] With her husband she started a publishing house, Harold Shaw Publishers, in the basement of their home in 1972.[3][4] After Harold died from lung cancer in 1986, Shaw became president of Harold Shaw Publishers.[3][4][8] Stephen Board became owner of Harold Shaw Publishers in 1990 and sold it to Random House's WaterBrook Press in 2000.[9]
In 1991, she married John Hoyte.[8] They were members of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Bellingham, Washington,[1][6] where they resided until her death on December 1, 2025, at the age of 96.[10]
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 (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.
- Knut Nystedt (Norwegian composer) did a setting for "Mary's Song", sung and recorded by the Elektra Choir of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and appears on their Child of Grace album.
- Alice Parker (American) set three of Shaw's poems for a song cycle.
- Frederick Frahm (American) composed settings for solo and choir 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".
