SOURCE: "Deciphering the Spirit—People, Places, Prayers," in Understanding Denise Levertov, University of South Carolina Press, 1988, pp. 147-201.

In the following excerpt from Marten's book-length study of Levertov, he analyzes the poet's message of Christian spirituality in three collections: Candles in Babylon, Oblique Prayers, and Breathing the Water.

The combination of harmony and flow … defines Levertov's books of the 1980s: Candles in Babylon, Oblique Prayers, and Breathing the Water. As if in momentary completion of the directions of her life's work, Levertov develops her vision of the mysteries of human experience into a statement of religious conviction and faith. As she explained in an article in 1984, "A Poet's View," in Religion and Intellectual Life [No. 1, Summer, 1984]:

all, in the creative act, experience mystery. The concept of "inspiration" presupposes a power which enters the individual and is not a personal attribute; and it is linked to a view of...