The dust that made us
by julia mcmullen
In The Dust That Made Us, Julia McMullen's poetry inhabits biblical narratives, wrestling on the page in a visceral and honest portrayal of familiar stories. Pain and suffering mingle with the goodness of God as poems consider the lonely desert, sharp-toothed serpents, innocent blood, while stopping to wonder at the glimmer of a dewdrop, jars of oil overflowing, dry bones humming to life.
From the first breath into Adam's lungs to Christ's final exhale on the cross, God is bringing life out of dust, redeeming every bloody, aching moment for His glory.
praise for The dust that made us
Theologically grounded and compellingly imaginative, The Dust That Made Us vivifies some of our most beloved biblical narratives with a tender yet gripping rawness. Weaving through Scripture from Old to New Testament, it is a reverent meditation on the beauty and brokenness that makes us human, and of the divine Breath that sustains us all.
—Brooke Dreger, editor, Solid Food Press
Julia McMullen takes her grief to the pages of Scripture and finds not answers there, but kinship. Here, salt and flour and oil and water mingle with breath and flesh and blood in a kind of survey of incarnations, from dust to dust, death to life, and grief to hope.
—Rachel S. Donahue, editor, Bandersnatch Books
This is the journey through the Bible your heart has been longing for.
—E. M. Welcher, pastor and poet
about the author
Julia McMullen is a poet writing in the dust of her one-hundred-year-old home. Her work has appeared in various journals, such as Heart of Flesh Literary Journal, Solid Food Press, and Vita Poetica. She lives with her husband and their three young children. This is her first chapbook.