God Went To Beauty School (poetry)

Author: Cynthia Rylant
Published: 2003, HarperTempest
56 pages

I finally “get it.”  I get what it is about poetry that I’ve never gotten before.  Everybody is always saying things like, “I get it.”  “It really spoke to me.” “It really says something." about different art forms, and I’ve always heard “Blah, blah, blah, I’m a pretentious culture snob.”  Now, don’t get me wrong, some of those people still are pretentious culture snobs, but now I do see the grain of truth in their constant mutterings.  And I have Rylant to thank for that.

From my completely non-religious frame of mind, I have no idea what it is about a collection of poems about God that captivated me so much.  They are humorous, lighthearted, and convincing while still being respectful.

It’s unclear whether Rylant approaches it from a religious or non-religious standpoint.  She doesn’t say anything about it in the inner or outer covers nor does she mention her spiritual/religious preferences in her author bio.  And the great thing is, I don’t really care.  So if anybody feels the need to do the research for me and posts the answer, I will be forced to disable your sweet little comments because I think knowing might ruin some of this magic for me.  Remember, I am a librarian — If I wanted to find something out, I could and I would.

In related news, I am a pretentious culture snob who apparently likes poetry that doesn’t even rhyme.

And now for the main event: a sample, for all my fellow snobs….

God Bought A Couch
He ordered it from Pottery Barn
and He had a little trouble
because His credit card
billing address didn’t match
the delivery address.
They weren’t totally convinced
He was God.
Because for one thing
He got His credit card
bills in Hell
(just His quirky sense of humor)
and He wanted the
couch shipped to Heaven

Brilliant.