Category Archives: Books

The KJV: Is it THE Bible? Part I: A Plea to KJV Advocates

Posted by Caleb Coy on

The King James Bible: Is it THE Bible?
Part 1:
A Plea to Advocates that the King James Translation of the Bible is the Only Inspired Translation, to Advocates that the King James Translation of the Bible is the Only Translation To Be Read “In the Pulpit”, and to Advocates that the King James Translation of the Bible is Merely the Best Translation to Use

Folks, we know the Bible is God’s good word. And in God’s good word we are told to avoid stupid arguments over things like endless genealogies and ‘old tales’, things like that. One of these stupid arguments is over what is “THE right Bible translation”.

I must begin by affirming that the “King James” Bible is a beautiful rendition of scripture that has been the delivery of God’s word to generations and generations around the world.  My intention here is not to slam the KJV, decry the KJV, forbid the KJV, or mock the KJV.  God’s word is holy, but we must distinguish between his word and the tradition of rendering his word.  We must not mistake one for the other.  Yes, the KJV has left a profound impact on the English language and religious culture around the world, a translation which resides in the homes of peoples the world over, a translation through which many received scripture.
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Bonsack–A Poem for my child

Posted by Caleb Coy on

Bonsack

It was not the petting zoo my son was enthralled with
Out at the farm in Bonsack
It was not the piglets, not the goats
Nor the bunnies nor the cows
Only a moment he spent
In the kernel pit before wanting out
Or in the pumpkin patch before nursing
And though he has a love for tractors
Sitting focused at the wheel
Mastering the gears and levers at sixteen months
Though he rode with us on the hay wagon
With eyes wide for the pasture
It was in the corn maze that he screamed for his daddy
Not with fear
But with blooming vigor for the continual rush of life!
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The 23rd Digest: A Bicolonation of David [Poem]

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The 23rd Digest: A Bicolonation of David

I need Him, I am content
I drink up, I sleep deep
I am mended, I am upright
I see shadows, I fear not
I grip firm, I walk easy
I have food, I have foes
I am soaked, I am sated
I know mercy, I came home

Walking the Breath: A Sophomore Greek Tale

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[In 10th grade my English teacher, Mrs. Carter, asked us to write a Greek-style story after reading The Odyssey.  I held on to mine.  The “vicious man-eater Humphries” was named after my 8th grade principal.   If my memory serves me correctly, my companions were named after two friends in my youth group.  In real life they would have surely made it.  It was a pagan tale roughly told in the Greek tradition, assuredly, but I snuck a little Christology in.]

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How Students Can Use Weebly With The Canterbury Tales

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How Students Can Use Weebly With The Canterbury Tales

When my students read The Canterbury Tales, I didn’t want to tediously read through all of the characters with them.  They wouldn’t remember all of the characters that way, and it would only serve to make it less interesting to the average high school student.  So I had a plan.
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Introducing the Crucible with A Satire Blues Song

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How do you introduce The Crucible to students?  How do you cover McCarthyism and satire in a mini-lesson?  How do you treat students to some good music in the process?  I came up with a way to sneak a Bob Dylan song in.

I used “The Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues” to demonstrate satire, cover the flaws of McCarthyism, and pair with The Crucible.


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Down in the Hemlocks—A Summer Poem

Posted by Caleb Coy on

[This week we’ll be saying goodbye to summer with three summer-themed poems I wrote during the summer.  This untitled poem I wrote last summer, shortly after the birth of my son.]

Down in the hemlocks
I brought my young baby
My boy in a blanket
And swaddled him there
Under the hemlocks
Down by the river
The cold stony river
Under the shade

.
[For Noah]

My Short Story Makes Honorable Mention in Glimmer Train’s Fiction Open

Posted by Caleb Coy on

I’m happy to announce that a short story I wrote, called “Last Day in April”, earned honorable mention in Glimmer Train‘s June Fiction Open writing contest.

I would love to share the story with my readers, but I am going to try and hold on to it for publication.  If it happens, readers, you will be the first to know.  Other than my family.  All I can tell you is that if you like the work of Stephen Chbosky you might like this one.

I realize I haven’t shared any short pieces on this blog.  Perhaps I ought to tease a few freebies in the near future.

Thank you to the editors at Glimmer Train for reading my story and placing me in Honorable Mention.  They are a journal I really look up to, and it’s an honor to be considered.

Picking Blueberries at 3 Birds—A Summer Poem

Posted by Caleb Coy on

[This week we’ll be saying goodbye to summer with three summer-themed poems I wrote during the summer.]

Picking Blueberries at 3 Birds
by Caleb Coy

I bring my son for the first time
To pick berries from the vine
Thirteen months old, he grabs them
By the handful
Out of the bucket
And off of the ground.

Clustered like grapes
They twist and pull
and fall into our buckets lightly.

Hand in hand we walk
Through the rows of the glade.
Among the gatherers
Among the Dutch visitors who came at dawn
In a cool June morning
When broke out the sun.

A belly full of berries
He rides on my shoulders
And gibber-gabbers
About sweet warm berries
In a perfect morning
Of a perfect day
The perfect day is pesticide free.
[For Noah]

Here is a link to 3 Bird’s Berry farm.