My Sour-Sweet Days

Mark Oakley is Canon Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral, overseeing the arts and learning programmes at the cathedral. He writes regularly for the Church Times and The Tablet and broadcasts frequently on BBC Radio 4. His latest, bestselling, book The Splash of Words: Believing in Poetry (Canterbury Press) was published last year to great acclaim. He's also the editor of A Good Year (SPCK, 2016) and author of our forthcoming The Spiritual Adventure of Language: Shakespeare And Christian Faith.

It's extremely unusual to meet anyone who isn't a specialist who has such a subtle feeling for language as he does.', Sir Andrew Motion, former Poet Laureate;The Splash of Words: Believing in poetry (Canterbury Press, 2016): This beautiful and wise meditation centred around Mark Oakley's anthology of the `soul language' of poetry opens new windows in the shared house of both poetry and belief.', Carol Ann Duffy, Poet Laureate;'A wonderful exposition of the relationship between faith, poetry and struggle.', Shami Chakrabarti, The Guardian;'A very moving book, opening all kinds of doors into a more compassionate, more truthful understanding.', Rowan Williams, Master of Magdalen College, Cambridge;Readings for Funerals (SPCK, 2015): This book will be a great help and a real comfort to anyone going through a difficult time in their life - something that happens to us all sooner or later.', Dame Judi Dench;'I have tested Mark Oakley's Readings for Weddings (SPCK 2003, 2014) with a number of couples I have been preparing for marriage over the last few years. They have been universally grateful for such a rich and varied quarry from which they have been able, in every case, to extract something that was highly appropriate but that would otherwise never have been discovered.', Richard Chartres, Former Bishop of London;A Good Year (SPCK, 2016): A good read.', Anvil