Antiphons: An International Anthology of Poetry

This delightful collection joins together a diversity of poetic voices, each responding to Homeward, a classical music piece by composer Richard Danielpour.

In 2020, as Covid-19 swept the world, classical composer Richard Danielpour approached Revolution of Tenderness to invite the nonprofit to commission a new piece of classical music that he would call Homeward. Danielpour's aim was to create a short hymn, "sung" on string instruments, that would provide healing in the wake of the global pandemic.

The Antiphons project invited poets from around the world to listen to Homeward and then compose poems that either expressed the unspoken prayer evoked by the music or provided a response to a message the poets had heard in the piece. These collected poems are not "lyrics" and they do not intend to provide a "libretto." They are stand-alone artistic expressions made in response to this unapologetically lovely piece of music. Visual artist, Dianne Settino, also created a glorious image, Penelope's Journey (the artwork on our cover), using the same method.

Revolution of Tenderness's mission is to provide humanities education and free cultural events in Appalachia and beyond. For more information, please visit: www.revolutionoftenderness.net