Jesus Merch: A Catalog in Poems

At first glance, the Christian merchandise populating Jesus Merch: A Catalog of Poems (such as "Christian pumpkins," "emoji angel necklaces," or "personalized cross lollipops") may seem solely humorous. In addition to delighting in this humor, Jesus Merch also sees its items as more than trivial or frivolous. Its poems seek to uncover the potential meanings of objects spanning several centuries, at times highlighting their troubling theologies and other times finding surprising depth or possibility.

Christian games and toys, Sunday School supplies, and religious home decor serve as springboards for meditations on a variety of topics, including both large-scale theological concepts and more intimate personal experiences. Plush angels sold in bulk open up questions about the seemingly selective nature of God's miracles, while a religious wedding cake topper provokes reflection on the role God plays, or doesn't play, in romance. Temporary tattoos of women from the Bible evoke memories of the poet's feminist theological awakening, and a fleece prayer blanket, memories of months of heartbreak. Jesus Merch holds together these items, and more, through the lens of "a faith / that is not scared of games or / the concept of playfulness."