Exalted Ground - by Kimberly Phinney (Paperback)

About the Book

Exalted Ground is a poetry collection about living fully awake to the miracles of life--even when it's painful. Broken into five chapters, Exalted Ground explores what it is to praise, lament, wonder, search, and create.

Book Synopsis

"Kimberly Phinney's poetry does what poetry is meant to do: it sings, it dances, it cries, it praises, it searches, it laments. It shows us what it means to be creatures of language and words-and what the power of words can do..." -Dr. Karen Swallow Prior, professor, speaker, and author of The Evangelical Imagination

"Exalted Ground guides you through the wilderness of yourself, showing you all the raw and ragged bits of life-down into the Valley of Shadow. And then they show you the Coming Dawn. This is a great collection that shows you that hope and light are always victorious." -Josh Nadeau, artist and founder of Sword and Pencil and author of Room for Good Things to Run Wild

Exalted Ground is Kimberly Phinney's much-anticipated follow-up collection to her best-selling debut, Of Wings and Dirt. In Exalted Ground, readers who were swept away by Kimberly's vulnerability and powerful storytelling through verse will find even more reasons to continue with her into the holiness that is living awake. With the raw beauty of nature and longing as her backdrop, Kimberly navigates what it is to be fully alive, as she journeys with her readers through the most essential aspects of the human experience: to praise and lament, to wonder and search, and to love and create. Following in the traditions of Mary Oliver and Wendell Berry, Exalted Ground celebrates the great awe found in God's creation and the divine spark nestled in our ordinary days.

Review Quotes

"Kimberly Phinney's poetry does what poetry is meant to do: it sings, it dances, it cries, it praises, it searches, it laments. It shows us what it means to be creatures of language and words-and what the power of words can do..."

-DR. KAREN SWALLOW PRIOR, professor, speaker, and author of The Evangelical Imagination

"Exalted Ground guides you through the wilderness of yourself, showing you all the raw and ragged bits of life-down into the Valley of Shadow. And then they show you the Coming Dawn. This is a great collection that shows you that hope and light are always victorious."

-JOSH NADEAU, artist and founder of Sword and Pencil and author of Room for Good Things to Run Wild

"The poems in Kimberly Phinney's Exalted Ground are transcendent yet grounded in the soil of lived experience. I resonate deeply with the spiritual and emotional resilience in these pages."

-STEPHEN ROACH, founder of The Breath and the Clay, host of Makers and Mystics, and author of Naming the Animals

"Kimberly takes us on a journey through her heart and soul, inviting us to live. This collection is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, the power of faith, and the beauty that can be found even in the darkest of times. ​As you read, you will find yourself immersed in a world where praise and lament coexist, where hope and despair dance together, and where the sacred and the mundane are intertwined."

-TANNER OLSON, poet, speaker, author of Walk a Little Slower, and founder of WrittentoSpeak.com

"In Exalted Ground, you will find an exquisite melding of words that speak to and penetrate your very soul. I've been following Kimberly Phinney's work for a while now, and I have to say that this is her best offering yet to her beloved readers. It comes from a deep well of life experience that offers solidarity and hope. Whether you are new to poetry or are a seasoned wordsmith, you will certainly resonate with this beautifully written collection as you travel with Kimberly through these riveting poems."

-JODI H. GRUBBS, writing coach, slow living advocate, and author of Live Slowly: A Gentle Invitation to Exhale

"Kimberly Phinney's poems have taken on an urgency and wildness in her second collection, Exalted Ground. Her words are radiant-like alpine wildflowers gathered or a lantern in the darkness-and as a humble reader, I feel as though she's written them just for me. What a gift for the faithful, the seekers, the broken, the healing, and for the wild ones."

-NICHOLAS TRANDAHL, award-winning poet and outdoorsman, author of Purgatory and Cabin Sketches

"Exalted Ground is a book to savor, to treasure, and to share. With each poem, Kimberly weaves a story that is uniquely hers yet deeply connected to our own. She invites us into a conversation-one that spans generations-by threading the voices of her poetry mentors throughout. The result is an offering that is both deeply personal and richly expansive. Masterfully crafted, this collection is one to linger over as a reader and learn from as a writer."

-SARAH STEELE, poet, speaker, artist, and author of An Ocean Without