Unapologetically feminine but impeccably educated, Kelly is the female voice of traditional Irish Catholicism. Revered within the literary circles of her time, Blanche Mary Kelly has been a soft spoken friend tucked into the pocket of many a housewife ever since. The Valley of Vision is steeped in comforting domestic references nestled within rhyming couplets, but it doesn't shy away from engaging with grander theological themes or raw references to the natural landscape. Her treatment of Old Testament subject matter is deft and enables the reader to engage with the emotional context without a whisper too much detail. This combination against the backdrop of Kelly's phenomenal grasp of English literature, particularly Christian literature, is stunning and visceral.
Kelly's approach to Christianity as a part of the fabric of women's lives makes her instantly accessible to those from within her own Catholic faith and those from outside wishing to gain insight. In this collection, she provides a poetic illustration of the concept of sanctifying grace from her unique perspective.
She uses the fantastic structure of Catholic Orthodoxy to create a descriptive, vivid world on the page and is utterly deserving of the 'deathless praise' she so movingly refers to. Angels, demons and witch children populate her fantasy world. As a reader you will feel simultaneously comforted and homesick for places you may never have been. As one suspects the author must have felt sometimes in her new American home, far from her native Ireland's rainy melancholy shores but still surrounded by the universe of Catholic lore, old faith and a sense of universal purpose.
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