COLUMNIST | ​Barnabas

Columnist on the arts and feature writer from 2009 to 2022 for Barnabas magazine, a SGF Canada publication.

AUTHOR | POET

Author of four books: 
All Things New: Essays on Christianity, culture, and the arts (2018) | Undiminished Returns: Poems of a Christian Life (2020) | J.R.R. Tolkien: Christian Maker of Middle-earth (2023) | Seasons of Sorrow: A Haiku Liturgy (2026)

SPEAKER | Educator

Teaching and speaking at schools, conferences, churches and other Christian venues for many years.

NEW BOOK of POETRY:
Seasons of Sorrow: A Haiku Liturgy

This collection of over 40 original haiku poems was written by poet Jeremy W. Johnston during a season of sorrow in his life. He lost his beloved mother, a dear friend, and a treasured mentor within a year. Arranged as a liturgy across the four seasons, Johnston's haiku poems explore lamentation and grief alongside the simple, ordinary moments of a life that carries on without loved ones. The haiku poems reflect our deep sadness in the face of death and the ultimate comfort God brings to all who are grieving. It is true that the Lord grants a peace that “surpasses all understanding,” and he guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Indeed, “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort” is with us in all our afflictions (Philippians 4:6-7; 2 Corinthians 1:3-5).
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Available in Canada at Amazon.ca.
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Available in the USA at Amazon.com.
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Available in the UK at Amazon.co.uk.

NEW BLOG Series: Backpacking Europe '94

NEW Biography: J.R.R. Tolkien: Christian Maker of Middle-earth by Jeremy W. Johnston 


Buy books, read books.

Other books by Jeremy W. Johnston

Undiminished Returns: Poems of a Christian Life

"It is in the very nature of poetry that it offers undiminished returns. You can return to the same poem over and over and find that it is richer and has more to offer on each return, indeed one poem, in the midst of such returns, often generates another. So it is with this fine collection from Jeremy W. Johnston; he has returned us to the classic form of the sonnet and taken inspiration from the likes of George Herbert and Christina Rossetti, and in doing so he has crafted a collection of beautiful and thought-provoking new poetry. This return to formal verse is not a repetition but a renewal."

MALCOLM GUITE, poet, musician, Chaplain at Girton College, Cambridge, and the author of numerous books of poetry and prose, including Sounding the Seasons, After Prayer, and Mariner: A Voyage with Samuel Taylor Coleridge
"Undiminished Returns is a deeply satisfying collection of poems—formally, psychologically, and spiritually. Charting the pilgrim path with candour and with a cadence and rhythm which capture the spirit as well as the body of being a believer, Jeremy W. Johnston opens up the private world of deeply held faith in a way which is at once unaffectedly personal, and touchingly universal. There are echoes here of Herbert, Bunyan, and Hopkins, all flowing into an original voice whose range can convey to us the grandeur of God, the sorrow of sin, and the fearful beauty of salvation in Christ Jesus. These are poems to turn the heart heavenwards, pieces which both capture what is easily seen, and highlight what is easily missed in Christian spirituality. These poems are a joy to read, and will be returned to again and again for their lyricism, thoughtfulness, and God-glorifying focus."

ANDREW ROYCROFT, poet, blogger at thinkingpastorally.com, and pastor of Millisle Baptist Church in Northern Ireland
​"What does it mean to believe and be haunted by doubt? Or to doubt yet be haunted by belief? Johnston’s poems, evidence of a life steeped in words and the Word, give voice to a secular condition ill-at-ease with our freedom and autonomy from God. In an age of irony, Johnston’s direct, sincere voice provides one healing word after another."

DOUG SIKKEMA, a regular contributor to Comment magazine and assistant Professor of English and Core Humanities at Redeemer University 

All Things New: Essays on Christianity, culture and the arts
ALL THINGS NEW: This is a collection of essays on Christianity, culture and the arts, which focuses on art & creativity, the artist's call, literature, music, cinema and faith & culture. The idea of the essays is to engage Christians to think through how their faith impacts their interaction and involvement with arts & culture, specifically in seeing the value of the imagination, the enrichment creativity brings to all of society and the delight the arts bring to daily life. Now available from Amazon in paperback or Kindle ebook.
ABOUT | the author
JEREMY W. JOHNSTON is the author of J.R.R. Tolkien: Christian Maker of Middle-earth (H&E, 2023), Seasons of Sorrow: A Haiku Liturgy (Bridge Books, 2026), All Things New: Essays on Christianity, culture & the arts (Joshua Press, 2018) and Undiminished Returns: Poems of a Christian Life (H&E, 2020). He is an adjunct professor and teacher of literature, rhetoric, classical studies, and history at several institutions, including Heritage College & Seminary in Cambridge, ON, Redeemer University in Ancaster, ON, and Mohawk College in Hamilton, ON. He holds a Master’s degree in Education and an Honors degree in English Literature and Humanities from the University of Western Ontario. For over ten years, he was the arts columnist for Barnabas magazine, which is published by the Sovereign Grace Fellowship of Canada. He has been involved in Christian Education—teaching, preaching and speaking—at local churches and Christian venues for many years. Jeremy and his wife, Laurie, have also homeschooled their four children for over 20 years. They live in Hamilton, Ontario.​