True to its name, Élan Vital pumps vibrant life into poetry. It is without a doubt, a presentation for the 21st century, and a rhapsodic one at that. In this poem of epic and cosmological proportions, author Suzanne Kelly taps deeply and relentlessly into the intellectual currents of avant-garde religion, philosophy and science. You know those perennial and tornadic topics which are swirling ever faster during this age of leaping enlightenment.

Élan captures in verse the living truth. And every verse can be broken down to naked fact that reflects immutable and eternal verities. Kelly's poetry cannot be consumed like fast food it requires lingering attention to collect the always revealing rhyme, the clever articulation of complex ideas and ideals, and the exultation of glimpsing and feeling genuine truth. Neither is it candy, but sustenance for the pilgrim traveler that satisfies even until tomorrow and tomorrow.

In a real sense, Élan Vital is a verbal odyssey that marches through the entire cosmos, space, and time and on to the ultimate. She begins at the top and leads the reader down the halls of eternity, hitting the high and low points of God's great expanses, right up to the moment. But this author then leads the reader beyond origin and history she goes as far as destiny can go.

The iambic pentameter employed in this book of potent poetry and images was obviously inspired by spirit and guided by personal revelation of a new and hitherto unknown order. It speaks from a high and clear place that transcends the usual limits of poetic expression, philosophical discourse and religious tradition. It is not poetry for the dilettante, or the faint-hearted. It is robust and commanding, beautiful and enticing, celestial and regal, all without egotistical intrusion.

To understand and appreciate Suzanne's poems better, familiarity with certain authors and books is helpful. She drew inspiration from sources as diverse as a graduate course on religion and philosophy; from Alexander Pope to Einstein, from The Urantia Book to Shakespeare. Amaze your friends astound your family with this brilliant book, but most of all gather in for yourself its many pearls, treasures that grow the soul.

-- Rick Warren