The intertwining of spirituality with images, metaphors, analogies, parables and other language containing strong veins of agrarian- and wilderness-oriented content is part of what gives scripture its power. Along with a large proportion of the rest of this Bible-reading country, as Mormons increasingly move inside and explore via the electronic frontier, scripture becomes one of the few places where folks might encounter nature with some constancy.
Of course, one problem that arises from the general nature-human disconnect is that of faltering literacy. Lacking their own spirituality-nature approach, some readers of scripture find the outdoorsy contexts and nature-hued saturation levels of many scriptural stories and passages mysterious and obscure, or maybe quaint and thick, rather like how the King James version of the Bible loses some students of scripture with its Shakespearean-era rhetorical density.
Wilderness Interface Zone is nothing if not interested in promoting literacy, especially nature-literacy. So to honor and enjoy scripture’s endearing and enduring traditional affinities with nature and to encourage folks to throw themselves into experience with nature–even just parks, with trees, grass, ducks, and space to fly kites–to improve their scriptural literacy, we’re running Poems of Biblical Proportions Week. WIZ is soliciting poetry (or even poetic creative nonfiction) based in both scripture and nature. Mp3s of music combining nature and scriptural themes are also of interest. Your work need not be based in the Bible only. It may reference any scriptural source, such as the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, etc.
To submit a poem, creative non-fiction essay, mp3, or other poetry-like venture containing both scriptural and natural wavelengths, see our guidelines here.
Wilderness Interface Zone 