Akiane

October 17, 2005
Though 12th-century mystic Hildegard of Bingen began receiving visions at the extraordinarily young age of five, she was in her early 40s before she revealed them to the public in her writings, artwork and music. Not so for Idaho-born Akiane, a media star who, at the age of 10, confidently reveals her divinely inspired artwork and poetry to the wider world. The book is divided into three parts, the first section being the story of Akiane's life and her visions (which first began at the age of four) as told by her mother—a kind of hagiography of sorts. It's well meaning, but generally stilted and flat in its prose. Most interesting are parts two and three, the second section devoted to full color depictions of Akiane's paintings (vivid, fantasy-like portraits in color and scene), and the third a selection of her poetry. Even more interesting—yet unfortunately left unexplored in any real depth—is the question of how to understand Akiane in the context of Christian spirituality. Is she a mystic? A precociously gifted child? The product of smart agents and advertising? All of the above? Readers will have to decide those questions for themselves.