Qaddish. A Meditation on Divinity. Poems, Volume 5, 2023

By Phil John Kneis

A poetic meditation on the divine across Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Inspired by the ancient Qaddish prayer, this single extended poem - "Qaddish - Sanctus - Bismillah" - explores holiness, creation, mortality, compassion, truth, and love through the shared spiritual heritage of the Abrahamic traditions. Drawing on Hebrew, Latin, Greek, Aramaic, Egyptian, and Arabic, it weaves scripture, philosophy, and history into a contemporary reflection on the search for transcendence.

The poem is preceded by a substantial introductory essay, "A Meditation on the Divine," examining the relationship between religion and science, faith and reason - advocating a critical, non-dogmatic engagement with religious thought that treats spiritual traditions as living conversations rather than settled doctrine.

For readers of philosophy, comparative religion, theology, and literary poetry, this volume rediscovers the enduring questions of existence through one of humanity's oldest conversations.

Vol. 1: Life As We Know It. 2001-2026.
Vol. 2: Daimonia. 1997-2011.
Vol. 3: Tetralogy I. The Woods, The Desert, The Sea, The Stars. 2004-2008.
Vol. 4: Chaos & Order. 1999-2020.
Vol. 5: Qaddish. A Meditation on the Nature of Divinity. 2023.
Vol. 6: Meditations on the End. 1995-2025.
Vol. 7: Poems with Rhyming Parts. 2001-2006.
Vol. 8: Nowhere Place. 2004-2010.
Vol. 9: One Moment in Time. 2008-2021.
Vol. 10: Tetralogy II, Part I. The Road, The Garden. 2009-2024.
Vol. 11: Futures Past. 2020-2026.
Vol. 12: Sturm & Drang. Early German Poems. 1991-1998.
Vol. 13: Tetralogy II, Part II. The City, The Ruins. 2026-2028.

Erratic Books erraticbooks.com philjohn.com erraticattempts.com

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1968289097
• ISBN13: 9781968289096
• Release Date: June 2026
• Publisher: Erratic Books
• Length: 286 Pages
• Weight: 0.77 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"