Dancing with a Baptist

Lonely Eliza grows up in a Bible-belt town. She yearns for intellectual adventure, company, and love. For comfort and meaning, she escapes into a world of books, one that includes gods and goddesses; knights and dragons; Biblical figures; and poets and their beloveds. Becoming a poet herself, Eliza goes off to college. There she finds a kindred spirit in her professor. He becomes her mentor, and then Eliza pursues him as her muse. Though she sees herself as strong, Eliza hopes (unconsciously) that he will be the "Beloved" who will save her. But this older man is married, and a Baptist deacon. He may have one foot in Eliza's world, but the other is firmly planted in the world of "family values." Because Eliza herself is not well grounded, the partnership makes for a dance that is passionate, confusing, heartbreaking--and healing. Told through a group of short poems, this story is for those who have loved, lost, and loved again.