Being Deaf at the Tower of Babel

This is a book of verse in a long line of lyric poetry. Unlike most contemporary writers, the author has written verse which actually rhymes. In this volume, the reader will discover that no subject is inappropriate for poetry. Themes here include faith, doubt, love, humor, war, sexuality, and death. This book presents ideas which invite the reader to experience, with the poet, a vast range of emotional reality, from doubting dogmas of faith to the painful reality of returning home from senseless war, with all its accompanying trauma. Poetry deals with the great mysteries of life, and with words tries to engage those realities, make sense of them, and move on in triumphal living. Poetry recognizes its limitations, but affirms that it is a gift from God to help one organize, understand, and find peace in a world that is both a vale of tears and a foretaste of beatitude. ""It was the poem entitled 'A. E. Housman' that first introduced me to the writings of Ronald Vaughan. I found his handling of the subject both original and perceptive, and it provided me with the impetus to fully investigate the content of Being Deaf at the Tower of Babel. And within this slim little book I found much thoughtful and pleasing material that I am more than happy to recommend to others."" --Peter Sisley, The Housman Society, United Kingdom ""A book of honest poetic reflection that touches the sacred space between our carnal, sensual, often violent lives, and the voice of the divine."" --Donna Marie Todd, Storyteller and Founder of AWidowsTale.com ""Poetry excites the imagination and stirs the soul like no other form of communication. Ronald Vaughan's book of poetry does just that. Among the many poems in this anthology are poems about biblical stories or characters. They range from poems about the Garden of Eden to the life of Jesus. I find that I often reread his poems. They stay with you a long time."" --Richard L. Morgan, author of No Act of Love Is Ever Wasted Poet and writer Thomas Ronald Vaughan was raised and educated in five Southern, ""Christ-haunted"" states (to use Flannery O'Connor's perfect term). He holds degrees from several schools, including Duke University. He has spent his professional career as a healthcare administrator, and as a minister of religion in the Presbyterian Church, USA, and the United Church of Christ. Vaughan and his wife, Jayne, live in the mountains of western North Carolina, near the city of Asheville. He recently published The Love of God and The Age to Come: No Eternal Hell (Wipf & Stock)