The Theology of Doubt

Scott Cairns

One of the problems with the poetry distribution system in the United States is that there are a bunch of good poets out there writing poetry, but they fly under the radar and eventually fade into obscurity; unlike splashy novels from first-time writers, books of poetry by excellent new writers are given no huge push, no enormous advertising budget, no massive book tour with media coverage. The end result, almost inevitably, is that said wonderful new poet ends up fading into obscurity, while the big chain bookstores keep stocking one shelf of the same bloated, mindless, overrated junk they've been stocking for the past fifty years.

And what happens to the poets? Every once in a while, you stumble upon one of their books in a used bookstore. Such was the case with me and The Theology of Doubt, Scott Cairns' first book, published over two decades ago as I write this. Where poetry is concerned, I've always been willing to pick up books by poets I've never heard of. As a result, I've waded through a good deal of swine to find a few pearls. The Theology of Doubt is, most certainly, a pearl.

If you've ever owned
a tortoise, you know
how terribly difficult
paper training can be
for some pets.

Even if you get so far
as to instill in your tortoise
the value of achieving the paper,
there remains one obstacle--
the tortoise's intrinsic sloth.

Even a well-intentioned tortoise
may find himself in his journeys
to be painfully far from the mark.

Failing, your tortoise may shy away
for weeks within his shell, utterly ashamed,
or, looking up with tiny, wet eyes, might offer
an honest shrug. Forgive him.
(--"On Slow Learning")

Graced with a gentle humor and the oft-ignored ability to allow its readers to take what they will from its poems and leave the rest, The Theology of Doubt is one of those debut collections that, in a more just world, wold have gotten the big advertising budget and splashy author tour, and perhaps Scott Cairns would have become a perennial bestseller. As things happened, however, Cairns' work lies undiscovered by all but a lucky few; I highly recommend you make yourself one of them. Scott Cairns delivers.