Books
Lifeguards
“In an age when crassness, cynicism, and outright cruelty are on the rise, Joy Roulier Sawyer reminds us that the human spirit can be refreshed in the life-giving water of poetry. Lifeguards is a generous, open-hearted, affirmative book, alive to the suffering in our world but wise enough to see it all with both compassion and humor.”
—John Brehm, author of Help Is on the Way
2018 | ISBN: 978-1942280620
Bower House
Tongues of Men and Angels
"In poems that blend the verbal alacrity and formal complexity of Gerard Manley Hopkins with the ironic verve and cultural awareness of Allen Ginsberg, Joy Roulier Sawyer pursues a path of love and of longing, 'heaven's taste trembling on honeyed tongues.' In feast and in fast, this fine collection will melt in the mouth. Taste and see."
—Paul J. Willis, former Santa Barbara Poet Laureate, author of Say This Prayer into the Past
2016 | ISBN: 978-0692661284
White Violet Press
Fire on the Path
with Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
Fire on the Path is a Jewish-Christian conversation in poetry. Through writing, Caryn (who grew up Jewish in Brooklyn and New Jersey) and Joy (who grew up Christian in western Kansas) discover just how similar their creative lives and spiritual wanderings align. Together, as fellow poets and seekers, they explore faith in new and surprising ways.
2024 | ISBN: 9781304370877
Dancing to the Heartbeat of Redemption
"Joy Sawyer's Dancing to the Heartbeat of Redemption is a rich and enriching book, a gift of both poetry and faith."
—Dan Wakefield, author of New York in the Fifties
In this contemplative-yet earthy approach to living and loving poetically, former Mars Hill Review and Inklings poetry editor Joy Sawyer explores the poetry of both classic and contemporary poets, as well as her own.
2000 | ISBN: 978-0830822294
Intervarsity Press
The Art of the Soul
Deepen both your artistic practice and Christian spirituality. In The Art of the Soul, read short meditations—and creative exercises—about film, fiction, poetry, visual art, music, theater, interior design, architecture, and cooking. Explore filmmakers, novelists, artists and poets like Wim Wenders, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Joni Mitchell, Annie Dillard, Spike Lee, Anne Tyler, Marc Chagall, Martha Graham, and many more.
2000 | ISBN: 978-0805418514 | Limited copies available
B & H Pub Group
Biblio/Poetry Therapy:
The Interactive Process
3rd edition revised & updated by Joy Roulier Sawyer
First published in 1986 and now in its third printing, this is a classic text for those studying bibliotherapy: the use of literature in all its forms to promote mental health. The Hynes and Hynes-Berry four-stage bibliotherapy model is used by therapists, clinicians, educators, poets, and spiritual directors around the world.
“The most comprehensive textbook available in the field of biblio/poetry therapy today.”
—Sherry Reiter, PhD, LCSW, BCT, PTR-MM/S
Author, Writing Away the Demons; Director, Creative “Righting” Center, Brooklyn, NY. Past President of the National Association for Poetry Therapy and the National Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy
2011 | ISBN: 978-0878394104
North Star Press of St. Cloud