Description
Neither Here nor There: The Many Voices of Liminality draws together the expertise, experience, and insights of a coterie of authors, all of whom relate the core concepts of liminality to their unique contexts. The experience of and inquiry into liminal phenomena have developed into a distinct discipline of study which now crosses and informs many areas of thought, including anthropology, sociology, theology, psychology, literature and education. New vistas of interdisciplinary study have opened as a result of sharing the common language and symbol system of liminality.
This anthology reflects the current resurgence of liminality and provides a critical sourcebook ideal for individual reflection, study groups, classes and seminars. From the inner workings of spiritual life to large social transformations, liminality now provides a powerful interpretive tool and effective method for spiritual direction, teaching and leadership.
About the Author
Timothy Carson is a pastor, writer, and the editor of this anthology. His doctoral work focused on liminality, and he is also the author of Liminal Reality and Transformational Power: Transition, Renewal and Hope (The Lutterworth Press, 2016). He is the Curator of the website TheLiminalityProject.org, which includes basic information about liminality, an extensive bibliography, a blog, and a multiplicity of current resources.
Contents
Contributors
Acknowledgements
Foreword / Barbara Brown Taylor
Introduction / Timothy Carson
1. Neither Here nor There / Timothy Carson
2. The Place Between / Pádraig Ó Tuama
3. Where Heaven Caresses Earth / Elena Huegel
4. Pilgrims, Thresholds, and the Camino / Kristine Culp
5. Ye Shall Be Changed / Joshua Boettiger
6. Hope in the Dark Passage / Michelle Trebilcock
7. The Two Liminalities of War / Kate Hendricks Thomas
8. Out of the Whirlwind / Jill Cameron Michel
9. Adoption and Cross-Cultural Parenting / Colleen Warner Colaner
10. Climate Change and Desert Spirituality / Timothy Robinson
11. Falling Down the Rabbit Hole / Nicole Conner
12. Intersections, Kairos, and Cyborgs / Adam Pryor
13. Inside the Russian Nesting Doll / Debra Jarvis
14. I Was in Prison and You Visited Me / Jacob Davis
15. Post-Apartheid South Africa and Ubuntu / John Eliastam
16. Gender Benders and Communitas / Dianne Dentice and Michelle Dietert
17. Three Spaces and an Excursus / Kenneth Krushel
Conclusion / Timothy Carson
Bibliography
Index
Endorsements and Reviews
Neither Here Nor There: The Many Voices of Liminality is an informed, interesting, and unique collection on the increasingly popular subject of liminality. Its multitude of contributors – the ‘many voices’ of this work – come from numerous different walks of life and all have different stories to tell. Carson’s edited work intriguingly weaves together the academic and the personal in this rich and diverse tapestry of all things liminal.
Dr Elizabeth Parker, University of West London
This book rides the line between scholarship and poetry, memoir and psychology, anthropology and theology. And that, of course, makes its point. Easy dualisms are neat and clean: everything is day or night, right or wrong, us or them, in or out. Reality, like this book, transgresses, transcends, and includes. Timothy Carson has brought together an amazing array of diverse writers of uncommon skill to transport readers to a place they may never have been before, a space between familiar spaces and beyond the dualist mind.
Brian D. McLaren, author, speaker and activist
Carson offers an impressive range of accessible, eclectic, entertaining, and informative meditations on liminality. Neither Here nor There presents reflections on liminality in remarkably accessible and practical ways. It is a useful resource for individuals or small groups keen to explore spirituality, and personal and social transitions.
Gladys Ganiel, in Slugger O’Toole blog, 8 April 2019.
Neither Here Nor There is a unique book, unlike anything I’ve read. While it is clearly thematic and coherent in its own right, the sheer variety of genres – poetry to history to memoir to philosophy to theology – in such a small space, leaves one intrigued. I highly recommend the book for those experiencing phases of deconstruction and reconstruction or those who what to fall into a delightful and yet serious rabbit hole about learning how to live in a world of unpredictability, limitless potential, and often needless boundaries, where hope – and hope for change – is never too far away.
Jamin Andreas Hübner, in Reviews in Religion and Theology, Vol 27, No 1
Neither Here nor There is an ambitious text that effectively attempts to guide the reader into the ‘betwixt and between’, introducing liminality to a new generation of scholars, writers and artists. It is immensely successful as a guide, explaining and expanding on liminality by way of an impressive array of perspectives from a refreshingly diverse group of contributors…The essays are superb in both breadth and scope, masterfully arranged by editor Timothy Carson…Neither Here nor There is a joy to read… Undoubtedly, this text will become key to future studies of liminality. It is highly recommended for all who are interested in liminality and practical theology.
Jonathan Best, Modern Believing, Vol 63, Issue 1, 2022
