The Sword of Eden

The Sword of Eden tells the story of Eve and Mary from their points of view. It connects their lives--Eve as the mother of us all, looking forward to the birth of one who is promised to bruise the head of the serpent in the garden, and Mary as the New Eve whose son will do so. They tell their own stories which are central to the biblical story of salvation as well as their typical lives as women, wives, and mothers. Grindal has used sonnet forms to tell their stories.


""Eve and Mary--we know their names from the Bible, artists have created paintings and sculptures, and Gracia Grindal has given them voices in her collection of sonnets, The Sword of Eden. Two women, two lives with all the pleasures and sorrows and worries, are made alive in a way that make us feel that we have never understood them before. Gracia Grindal retells their stories in sonnets that move us with new images, music, and sound. It is great poetry.""
--Lisbeth Smedegaard Andersen, Danish priest, psalmodist, and art historian

""Grindal's lively imagination brings two women to life in these lovingly structured sonnets. Eve and Mary respond to life's pleasures and tragedies as fully rounded beings. Gems and flowers decorate a landscape rich in poignant insights into the human condition. We are all enlarged in the reading.""
--Alice Parker, composer, conductor, Artistic Director of Melodious Accord

""Eve and Mary are the Alpha and Omega of the feminine in the Bible. In this subtle and rich series of poems, Professor Grindal explores the meaning of these two significant women, significant in the history of culture, and significant in God's intention for the world. She explores the way these women are understood in Scripture, the various and subtle associations throughout the biblical narrative, their meaning in theology and dogmatics, and in Christian experience and personal life.""
--Walter Sundberg, Professor Emeritus of Church History, Luther Seminary

Gracia Grindal is Professor Emerita of Rhetoric at Luther Seminary. She is known for her poetry and her hymn collection, A Treasury of Faith, which treats most of the lessons in the Revised Common Lectionary.