American Poet and Educationist David Austell's reading focused on his just published book, Tin Man at I-House, Columbia University, Jan 29, 2019
The Tin Man by David
B. Austell
ISBN 81-8250-079-6 2018 pp.324 Hard Demy ( Nirala,
2018) http://niralapublications.com/new-booksarrivals/the-tin-man/
Available at Amazon : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CJTDLLK?ref=myi_title_dp and
SPD : https://www.spdbooks.org/Products/9788182500792/the-tin-man.aspx
The Tin Man, by distinguished American poet and educationist, David B. Austell, is a moving homage to a little known but charismatic figure in the Christian biblical narratives, Saint Joseph of Arimathea. Completed after six years of research and writing, The book is based on a myriad of primary and secondary source materials including canonical texts, apocrypha, religious traditions, church history, medieval literature, and folklore. The Tin Man is a grand narrative poem in epic style regarding the key intersections of Joseph of Arimathea’s life both with Pontius Pilate, Roman Governor of Palestine and with the strange and charismatic Jesus of Nazareth. The poem explores the experiences of a dramatically flawed man and the transmutation of his inner being in the presence of the Numinous.In the final analysis, The Tin Man explores the life-changes that transform an arrogant and troubled expatriate into a Christian saint, missionary, evangelist, and church leader. The Tin Man is the epic song of Joseph of Arimathea.
“The figure of Joseph of Arimathea has always been dear to English hearts because of the age-old tradition, linked not only with Cornwall but also with Glastonbury, that he traveled here himself…Anyone reading this work will feel a great debt of gratitude to David Austell…The writing is full of music and it is music that leads us to the amazing figure of ‘The Tin Man’ so that we journey with him through history as pilgrims.” -from the Introduction by the Very Reverend Dr. Robert A. Willis, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, England
