In this episode, Claire chats to writer and poet Ryan Diaz about his debut novel Abuelo. Ryan also reads poems from his collections For Those Wandering Along The Way, Skipping Stones, The Wounded Monk, and Like Falling Leaves.
Ryan Diaz is a writer and poet from Queens, NY. He holds a BA in History from St. Johns University and a MA in Biblical Studies from Reformed Theological Seminary. His writing has appeared in publications like Cathexis Northwest, Transcendentals, Dappled Things, Dew Drop, The Curator, Ekstasis, Christianity Today, and Premier Christianity. He is the author of three poetry books, For Those Wandering Along the Way (Wipf & Stock), Skipping Stones (Wipf & Stock), The Wounded Monk, and a chapbook of short poetry, Like Falling Leaves.
Ryan’s poetic work seeks to find the divine in the ordinary, the thin place where the transcendent and the mundane meet. His interests include the literature of JRR Tolkien, Gary Snyder, and the Beats, the intersection of Poetics and Theology, the Christian Mystical Tradition, Zen Buddhism, and the relationship between Art and Religion. He lives in Queens, NY, with his wife, Janiece, his son Damian, and is a lifelong (self-loathing) New York Mets fan.
Well-known poets who inspire him are Jim Harrison, Gary Snyder, Seamus Heaney, Wendell Berry and Nazim Hikmet.
Ryan is looking for some guest poets to be featured in his Substack series
. If you write poetry with a contemplative flair and are consciously looking for the transcendent in the ordinary then please reach out and email acontemplativesfieldguidenyc@gmail.com.
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