‘Heaven in Ordinary': a book in the making

[@therenaissancepiper]

Malcolm, Thank you so very much for sharing this with us. For me as well it’s those simple moments that declare Gods ultimate creation even here beneath our feet and in front of our eyes every day. I love one Christ’s Sayings from the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas part of the Nag Hammadi Codices. “The kingdom of God shall not come by expectation. The kingdom of God is spread upon the earth and men do not see it.”

[@therenaissancepiper]

Hi Malcolm.....I sent you a message through iMessage on your Facebook page. Lemme know what you think Sir? thanks Heaps and many blessings to you and your family!

[@matthewbrough5280]

When you have no formal education in literature, as I haven't, you kind of just wander around and bump into things by happenstance, including very big things you somewhat knew were there but never paid attention to. I have just done this with Coleridge and his Mariner; a thrilling experience. And by this route I discovered your excellent lecture on Coleridge. You have a wonderful thing going on here; it's always a relief to know there are people sharing their knowledge of both books and God with joy. I look forward to reading more of your work. And you have a beautiful library.

[@MalcolmGuitespell]

Thanks, so glad you've discovered Coleridge. I have a whole book in the Mariner, simply called 'Mariner'

[@sarahtisdale1748]

The concept of transfiguration is what I keep coming back to lately. So beautiful and wonderful and delightful!

[@barbaraparry9424]

Reminds me of Blake's poem, Auguries of Innocence: To see a world in a grain of sand, and Heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand and Eternity in an hour... CS Lewis also seemed to be a master of seeing Heaven in the ordinary, e.g., his comparison of the relation of faith and works being like that of 2 blades of a scissor.

[@MalcolmGuitespell]

yes Lewis had a constant knack for the homely analogy

[@loveandpeace1985]

I'm about halfway into Heaven In The Ordinary right now. Very enjoyable read.

[@MalcolmGuitespell]

thanks, glad your enjoying it!

[@r.pittman3]

The right kind of Defiance! The Glory of the moment!

[@cliffhiggins730]

Well, well, my dear Dr. Guite. Come October, I shall have to purchase a new book from across The Pond! It sounds simply WONDERFUL! Thank you, so much for sharing this excerpt with us. A side note; to light your pipe, is an ordinary process for you, but as I watched you remove your Zippo lighter from your vest pocket, and light your pipe, then close, and replace your lighter, as silly as this may sound, it brought me joy. God bless you!

[@MalcolmGuitespell]

Thanks, yes both lighting and smoking the pipe give me pleasure!

[@kimhuitt5341]

I’ve got to get a pipe, not to smoke but just for the effect. ❤️ Thank you for continuing to share.

[@MalcolmGuitespell]

Go for it!

[@ericdingler672]

Ya know what’s better than a Peterson spigot, is a Peterson system spigot. It’s the ultimate pipe in my humble opinion. 👍💨💨💨 I look forward to hearing more.

[@andrewwilson3327]

Thank you. My pleasure.

[@williamrees6662]

I look forward to purchasing it when it is published! I think the queen of Spain might have agreed with your assessment that our conception is short and our gestation long!

[@69telecasterplayer]

Just purchased my copy of your first collection. Looking forward to this new one. I enjoyed this opportunity to join you in your office and see how you do the proof. I find that proofing on a screen is more difficult and that I catch more errors with the printed page. Do you do your writing on a keyboard or by hand? In a journal? I watched an interview with Shelby Foote and he showed how he wrote his histories on the American Civil War by hand. Some tell us that we are generally more creative when writing by hand. Perhaps, even the act of pausing and dipping the pen in ink aids in the thought process. God bless you and your labors for the King.

[@MalcolmGuitespell]

with prose I write on screen and correct on paper, with poetry its often the other way round!

[@MarkEGreen-rf4on]

Good evening Malcolm, Congratulations on receiving the proofs of your book. It never ceases to amaze me how many mistakes, usually spelling, that creep into the final printing of books these days, despite the corrections by proof readers and the author. I think this must happen at the final typesetting stage. You'll remember that books years ago often had an errata slip bound in the front detailing errors spotted after printing. Also, paperbacks and many hardbacks are no longer bound in signatures and tend to fall apart. Here endeth the moan! Incidentally, it looks as though you're smoking a mixture rather than a flake. Very interesting to learn about the use of spent cartridges for pipe repairs in the trenches. Tobacco was a solace for troops during that terrible time, hence the actions of 'Woodbine Willie'! God bless.

[@MalcolmGuitespell]

yes, I agree with you about the fall in standards of book production generally, though happily they do my essay collections in nice little hardbacks well bound. Good to be reminded of Woodbine Willie! I sometimes smoke a flake but in this one, you were right, I was smoking a black- cherry cavendish mix

[@cephasmcpher67peteroutdoorspip]

Many times I sit and reflect with a pipe in hand that has not been lit.

[@stephenandcas]

A pipe a book, and time to think. One small positive in a time of lockdown.

[@MalcolmGuitespell]

yes indeed!

[@sandrofazzolari8833]

Dear Mr. Guite what was St. Paul’s wish for us all? Thanks for sharing this. Kind regards, SF.

[@MalcolmGuitespell]

in 1 Corinthians 13 he says that though now we only see in part, through a glass darkly, one day we will see face to face

[@sandrofazzolari8833]

Malcolm Guite grazie 🙏

[@auk7447]

Loved this Malcolm - the video is itself (the pipe, the sitting with the pages, the communication with us the watchers) a 'Heaven in the Ordinary' moment. I look forward to reading your words. I also have a question.... I've written an ethical thesis with a creative bent and have decided after a long time to commit to writing a fiction that draws on the religious (Mary Madgalene - she won't be married, or a prostitute, and I'm curious about how she survived her demons - whatever they were - long after the resurrection was a distant memory). With extrovert tendencies and living amongst scientists and nurses who's minds don't travel in these directions, I am a bit lost and will need to tap into some community of similar thinkers - do you know of any groups in Cambridge?

[@MalcolmGuitespell]

I mainly know my college poetry group, but I did spend time with the Cambridge group of NANORIMO ( novel writing group that meets throughout november each year and sometimes beyond that and they were friendly and helpful. check them out on twitter here twitter.com/cambridge_wrimo?lang=en

[@auk7447]

@@MalcolmGuitespell thanks will check these out 😁

[@moe-md7ss]

Some one gift me a pipe the need for it has reached beyond recovery