When asked to describe her poetry, Runyan replies, “…spiritual reflection. For the past few years, I have focused almost all my poetry on scripture, either directly or indirectly” (2010 blog interview no longer online). In A Thousand Vessels Tania Runyan writes about ten Bible women: Eve, Sarah, Dinah, Ruth, Esther, Mary, the woman at the well, Martha, Jairus’ daughter, and Mary Magdalene.

Reflection works well for Runyan as she muses about these spiritual matriarchs. She says of the themes and subjects she covers: “I explore the experiences of marriage, love, and birth, especially with women like Ruth and Mary. Faith and sacrifice with Sarah. Death and rebirth with Jairus’ daughter. The changing power of Christ with the woman at the well” (Examiner.com interview).

However, that reflection also takes her deeper and broader. For in the 46-poem collection are also pieces about modern Eves, Sarahs, Dinahs etc. In the Eve section, for example, is the poem “My Daughter’s Hands” in which Runyan delights in her toddler’s growing self-awareness, describes her attempts to grab the communion cup, and imagines her reaction to her mother’s “no”: “… yet I know the moment I say no / your world will begin to go wrong. / You will learn that most bright things / are never meant to be touched” (p. 14).

In Dinah’s section we have the poem “Child Sex Offenders” which reminds us how ordinary and unmarked are the predators who live among us. Esther’s section begins with “Beach Walk,” a poem that describes two bikini-clad teens imagining the effect they’re having on the lifeguard. Each Bible woman has her modern counterpart poems, bringing these spiritual mothers into our century as we recognize that we moderns face many of the same issues they did.

Runyan’s poems are easy to understand, interesting, relevant, and honest. Her vulnerability arouses our empathy and through her insights we gain a greater appreciation of not only Bible women but our friends, sisters, grandmothers, aunts, wives, and (if we’re women) ourselves.

( )

In A Thousand Vessels, Tania Runyan brings the women of the Bible to life with her poetry. She weaves their stories and struggles into the fabric of the contemporary lives of women today.' Revealing heartache that has echoed throughout the ages, it still resonates in the hearts and souls of women today.

Each section of this beautiful book is titled with the name of a Biblical woman. The poems are written about that woman, some in her own voice. From Eve the first woman, to Mary Magdalene, thought to be the lowliest woman; they are here. In their sorrows and trials, their poems are written with an urgency and importance.

Tania Runyan writes with intelligence and sincere emotion, both essential in poetry. She writes from the heart and soul. Life resounds in every poem, each with trials and tribulations, but also with faith, love and hope. ( )