Theological Poets

Fred K., over at la nouvelle theologie, asked me to offer a list of poets essential for theologians. This is an interesting reqest, as it assumes poetry and theology have a relationship worthy of note. Do poems influence theology? Or is it simply that some poets have religious interests and presuppositions which appear in their poems? My two favorite "Christian poets" are R.S. Thomas and Geoffrey Hill, and yet I doubt they would appreciate the designation of "Christian poet," as it is somewhat reductionistic. I suspect most poets would like to be labelled as simply "poets," or perhaps merely as "artists."

I believe that very few poets have influenced theology. Dante and Milton, of course, are the great exceptions. Most theologians seem uninterested in aesthetics, and poetry is especially conspicuous by its absence in summas and theological monographs (which makes the work of Hans Urs von Balthasar even more important, given his emphasis on aesthetics). We suffer from an Aristotelian utilitarianism, where jargon and methodology have replaced beauty and poetry, and thus theology is mostly barren and incapable of moving the heart.

So here is my list, which I know will have many omissions, and which I will desire to revise when names bubble up into my brain later in the day. Since the other lists are chronological, I will try and follow suit.

Anonymous - this guy (or girl) wrote an enormous amount of poetry about Christ!
Dante
St. John of the Cross
Milton
John Donne
George Herbert
Henry Vaughn
Thomas Traherne
William Cowper
Charles Wesley
Isaac Watts
William Blake
John Henry Newman
John Greenleaf Whittier
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Emily Dickinson
Gerard Manley Hopkins
T.S. Eliot
C.S. Lewis
John Betjemen
W.H. Auden
R.S. Thomas
Geoffrey Hill
Jane Kenyon
Anthony Hecht
Richard Wilbur

Please be kind when you point out a glaring omission!