Temple Garden is Jock Stein's tenth book of poetry, but the first collection of its type. It has five sections: Nature, Scotland, In Response to Bible Texts, Questions, and Poems of Time and Season. Faber poet Harry Smart, in his introduction, writes: "The title poem of Jock Stein's collection is a natural doorway into the whole. 'Temple Garden' points to faith, but not a single faith. We find ourselves in synagogue, mosque, and Christian church in these poems." Just as the good life involves discipline as well as freedom, so these poems showcase a variety of forms, so that tradition and twenty-first-century life blend in unexpected ways--inspired by words of Jesus, that the writer trained for the kingdom goes into his larder and brings out things new and old. Ancient wisdom and theology, it is an example of research through creative practice. The book mixes passion, curiosity, theology, and even whimsy in equal measure, as the author delights to show how orthodox Christian faith and poetry together make a unique gateway to exploring the universe along with the wonder and difficulty of human life and destiny. There is always more!
