by Judah Denburg

“Judah A. Denburg is both scientist and poet. His is the grace of poetry, which is to make feeling transparent, touching the heart, as well as the honesty of the scientific quest for clarity and truth. The reader should pause, linger over these poems, and derive from them both meaning and joy.”
- Johannes Ring, Professor of Medicine, Munich

Half a World Away is the third book of poetry by Judah Denburg, following on Old Roots New Trees (1993) and Altar of the Seasons (1995), all published by Mosaic Press. All three books confirm that this poet possesses a very distinctive poetic voice and a breadth and depth of vision. His imagery is almost incandescent, his lines, sparse and precise, his ruminations, always complex and biblical in scope.

“This volume’s inspiration emerged mainly from the mini-sabbatical of four months that I spent as a Visiting Professor in Perth at the University of Western Australia. There, at the eastern edge of the Indian Ocean, the unique colour and life of that continent mingles with scienti fic and intellectual stimuli and the heart of a lonely sojourner to create layered images of this collection.”
- from the Foreword

Judah Denburg, MD, FRCP(C), is a distinguished Professor of Medicine at the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. He is a renowned medical researcher and the author of numerous papers and journal articles. He has also written poetry for four decades. His poetry borrows from the deep and vivid imagery of the bible in order to reach personal meaning and relevance. His approach to and use of language and words is inspired by the mystical and midrashic, steeped in rabbinic lore and legend, always in pursuit of traditional and contemporary revelation. The poet himself bests states his intent:

“I am forever impressed that I continue to see myself through some self-contained vessel of light from genesis to present and onward.”

Author: Judah Denburg
Category: Poetry
ISBN: 0889628726
Pages: 96