This highly readable book represents a unique approach to the controverted matter of the relations of literature and religion, eschewing linear argument in favor of a nuanced essayistic manner that elucidates texts and issues of immediate and lasting concern.

"Atkins is a complete master of the literary works he discusses and the secondary criticism surrounding them. His citations from those works are succinct and just right; he is a brilliant reader and interpreter. His recovery of a religious Ezra Pound, for one, is ground breaking and controversial." - Will Willimon, Bishop, the United Methodist Church, Birmingham, Alabama and author of The Early Sermons of Karl Barth

"Literary Paths to Religious Understanding is a work that deals with important issues - important humanly and professionally. Its audience should be a wide one. Like Geoffrey Hartman towards the end of his career (with whom he has long acknowledged an affinity), Atkins seems to be stepping away from a narrowly scholarly path to explore issues that have stimulated him for some time, and that will also stimulate his readers." - Jan Gorak, Professor of English, University of Denver