The views expressed in this article are of the author only and do not necessarily represent those of the Center for Pastor Theologians.
Diary of an Old Soul
George MacDonald, with Timothy Larsen
IVP Academic (2024). 296 pp.
Probably like most of us, I came to George MacDonald through C.S. Lewis who regarded him as his “master.” I started with Phantastes before moving on to his other novels. Then a kind professor passed on a beautiful collection of his Unspoken Sermons and I was hooked. I had wanted to get my hands on a copy of MacDonald’s Diary of an Old Soul for a long time, and the only copy I was able to come across was a cheap, print-to-order facsimile of an early edition. It was blurry, unevenly printed, and difficult to read.
What a pleasure, then, to hold this sumptuous new edition by IVP in my hands. It has an autumnal feel to it, with a tastefully designed maroon hardback cover and a yellow ribbon to mark one’s place. Blank pages are inserted between MacDonald’s poetry to make room for the reader’s notes and reflections.
The book begins with a delightful introduction by Timothy Larsen. Larsen gives an kind appetizer to MacDonald’s poetry by highlighting some of his favorite poems, each of which he likens to “a special stone” he wants to share “with others so that they will take the time to see it truly, and also delight in it” (p. 2). He weaves in reflections on Dante and Dorothy Sayers in his pleasantly meandering introduction. What’s left of the book is almost wholly MacDonald. Larsen shows up in a few footnotes, but his annotations are sparse and, in my opinion, add little of value to the text, especially in contrast with his introduction.
There is no argument to summarize in MacDonald’s book. Rather, there is a short seven-lined poem offered on each day of the year. As Larsen points out, MacDonald “is not following the liturgical calendar, nor the season of nature, nor a cycle of scriptural readings” (p. 13). This means that there is little seasonality in the content of this book, though it is arranged around the days of the month over the course of a calendar year. Sometimes, though, the poems—which are often prayers—do build upon another, and there value in sticking with the flow that comes from reading a few poems in course.
Through the many poems, one sees MacDonald’s (sometimes strug gling) reliance on the goodness of God.
My harvest withers. Health, my means to live—
All things seem rushing straight into the dark.
But the dark still is God. I would not give
The smallest silver-piece to turn the rush
Backward or sideways. Am I not a spark
Of him who is the light?—Fair hope doth flush
My east.—Divine success—Oh, hush and hark! (p. 34)
“But the dark still is God,” writes MacDonald. There is nowhere that God is not. MacDonald knows this, and can pray to the Father, “Thou art my life, my health, my bank, my barn—And from all other gods thou plain dost warn” (p. 34). This trust in God for all things and at all times is what is so heartening about all of MacDonald’s writing. This is certainly true of Diary of an Old Soul. More often than not, I am prone to doubting the goodness of God, unsure of whether or not I should trust him. MacDonald’s wrestling helps to show me the way to live faithfully.
This book will be a handsome addition to any shelf in the pastor’s library. And though MacDonald’s poetic genius is not on par with Dante or Herbert or Wordsworth, there is a goodness to what he offers that is nourishing indeed.
Pastors would do well to read more poetry alongside academic texts and fiction. Poetry has a way of slowing us down, making us attune to what God is doing in us and around us. For pastors who want to make reading verse a habit, MacDonald’s Diary of an Old Soul is an excellent place to begin.
Cole Hartin (PhD, Wycliffe College/University of Toronto) is an Associate Rector at Christ Church Episcopal in Tyler, TX. He is a member of the St. Basil Fellowship of the Center for Pastor Theologians.
