Reviews List

We welcome reviews of recent (within the past year or so) or upcoming works in any genre and media exploring the intersection of art, faith, and spirit. This includes but is not limited to chapbooks, full-length publications (poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and traditional nonfiction), anthologies, film, exhibitions, music, and performances.

Prospective reviewers are welcome to select a title from the suggestions below or to propose something not listed. If it is your first time writing for us, please send a query first to hello@vitapoetica.org and include a bio of yourself, two relevant writing clips, and, in order of preference, 1-3 title(s) you’re interested in reviewing. We will request a reading copy or media pass for your review (or reimburse your ticket, as applicable). Please understand that review assignments depend on availability and editorial needs.

Poetry:

Glory, Too - Nikki Grimes

Kitchen Hymns: Poems - Pádraig Ó Tuama

The Holy & Broken Bliss - Alicia Ostriker

Forest of Noise - Mosab Abu Toha

Matters for You Alone - Leslie Williams

Dear Dante - Angela Alaimo O'Donnell

The Invention of the Darling - Li-Young Lee

Theophanies - Sarah Ghazal Ali

Fiction:

Stone Yard Devotional - Charlotte Wood

Beautiful Days - Zach Williams

Clear - Carys Davies

High Hawk - Amy Frykholm

Martyr! - Kaveh Akbar

Nonfiction:

Aflame: Learning from Silence (Travel, Philosophy) - Pico Iyer

Just Making: A Guide for Compassionate Creatives (Art, Social Justice) - Mitali Perkins

Still Life with Remorse (Graphic Memoir) - Maira Kalman

The Mystics Would Like a Word: Six Women Who Met God and Found a Spirituality for Today (Religion, History) - Shannon K. Evans

In My Time of Dying: How I Came Face-to-Face With the Idea of an Afterlife (Memoir, Science, History) by Sebastian Junger

Reading Genesis (Literature, Religion) - Marilynne Robinson

Cloistered: My Years as a Nun (Memoir) - Catherine Coldstream

Field Notes for the Wilderness: Practices for an Evolving Faith (Religion, Philosophy) - By Sarah Bessey

Music:

Layers - Joel Ansett

Marigold - The Hillbilly Thomists

All Life Long - Kali Malone

Film:

Sing Sing (Drama) - Greg Kwedar

Flow (Animation) - Gints Zilbalodis

Perfect Days (Drama, Foreign) - Wim Wenders

Here (Drama, Foreign) - Bas Devos

Exhibitions:

The Megiddo Mosaic: Foundations of Faith - Museum of the Bible, DC, through July 6, 2025

A "Personal Stories" Exhibit: C. S. Lewis - Museum of the Bible, DC, opens March 7, 2025