'A Song of the One,' New Christian Epic, Now Available

An age-old story retold in verse for a new millennium.

Lexington, KY (PRWEB) November 3, 2006 -- A Song of the One, by Alfred D. Byrd, has just been published through Lulu (www.lulu.com), the world's fastest-growing provider of print-on-demand books. A Song of the One, along with free access to an eight-page excerpt of its text, is available at http://lulu.com/content/378629.

A Song of the One is the age-old account of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Glory retold in verse for a new millennium. The major events, characters, and themes of The Story of Salvation appear in a new light in a clear, fast-moving narrative that flows relentlessly from the fires of the first beginning to the fires of a new beginning.

Here is the author's own statement about the book: "A Song of the One is an epic poem that tells the central narrative of the Bible. The poem flows from Genesis to Revelation and includes all of Scripture's key stories: Creation, the Fall, the Flood, the Lives of the Patriarchs, the Exodus, the Kingdom of David, the Babylonian Exile, the Return to the Holy Land, the Life of Christ, the Acts of the Apostles, and the Revelation.

"To keep the poem flowing and short enough for you to read in a single night, I've had to leave out some stories that, though important in themselves, didn't fit the poem's flow. I've also had to leave out most of the wealth of the Wisdom literature and prophecies of Jewish Scripture, and the epistles of the New Testament. My goal wasn't to try to replace the Bible. Instead, I want you to experience the full drama of the Biblical narrative and come to, or come back to, the Bible with new eyes.

"As part of helping you come to the Bible with new eyes, I've tried, while being faithful to the Biblical narrative, to take it out of its cultural context and make it universal. As part of my effort to do so, I've changed all of the names from the forms that they had in the original Hebrew and Greek. Some names I've translated nto English; others I've replaced with words that describe the basic character or role of a person or people. My goal in changing their names was to make them ancient persons live for you today.

"I've written A Song of the One in American English, which is my native tongue. The form of verse that I used in the poem is one that began with Homer, but was adapted to American English by Longfellow in his epic poems Evangeline and The Courtship of Miles Standish. I've used this form because great poets of the past have used it to write immortal verse. I've tried to make this form live today by using everyday words and putting conversations into everyday speech.

"My goal was to write something that would be accessible to, and appeal to, persons of every culture who've learned to read English. I've tried to write something that will entertain you. Beyond that, I've tried to write something that will bring you with fresh zeal to the sacred text that has been changing hearts and lives for thousands of years."

Alfred D. Byrd has previously published

Thistledown,

Through the Gate of Horn: The First Thead of the Dhitha Tapestry,

The Ghost of Pelfrey's Bend,

On the Wings of Dream: The Second Thread of the Dhitha Tapestry, and

Trinity, Canon, and Constantine: Clear Light on the Early Church.

All of the previously published books are available at Amazon.com or other major on-line booksellers.

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