James Marshall Warnack — Soul Symphonies

James Marshall Warnack lived several Los Angeles lives at once: silent-film actor, stage performer, Times religion editor, “Foothill Philosopher,” student of Yogananda, and poet whose work tried to hear one spirit moving through many faiths. Soul Symphonies begins with trees, lovers, flame, birds, desert, fog, and the sea, then keeps pressing toward unity, surrender, freedom, and the divine presence inside ordinary life. The poems can sound Christian, pantheist, or yogic without settling into a single creed—much like the journalist who covered churches while refusing membership in one. This edition resets the complete 1928 book, keeps its sequences intact, and restores continuations that the scan repeatedly detached from their poems.