About The Author
About The Author
Douglas John Mursu
Douglas John Mursu is the author of Inspirational Originals — The Poems of Douglas John Mursu, a poetry collection born from more than twenty years of physical adversity and a deep Christian faith.
As Douglas shares in his own words, it was through great hardship that he discovered his gift for writing and rhyme — a gift he sees as evidence of God’s grace transforming difficulty into purpose. Much of his poetry took shape during long periods confined to a wheelchair, written with what he describes as clear direction from the Holy Spirit, often starting from nothing more than a phrase or a passing notion.
Screenwriter and film producer Barbara Shoner, who has known Douglas since high school, describes him in her foreword to the collection as a man with a lifelong desire to make a difference and to share the redemption of Christ — through his writing and through his long-standing support of mission work. Two of his poems, “I Won’t Compromise” and “It Is for Jesus,” went on to inspire the feature film Steadfast, with “It Is for Jesus” adapted into a song and featured as the movie’s opening track.
Douglas dedicates this collection to the memory of his father, Frederick Werner Mursu, and credits its completion to the encouragement of his mother, Sandra Ann Post-Mursu, who illustrated the book, as well as to a circle of family and friends — Barbara Bieber Shoner, Constance Lynne Clark, Roxanne Beckett Mastrantonio, Yolanda Beckett Lawton, Denise A. Dewald, Theresa June Miller, C. Jean Cohen, Deborah Lynn Pettit Pacer, and Anna Marie Seelbinder — whose love and support he says made the book possible.