All Over Albany

Nearing the last word in the Bible

Phillip Patterson beneath a willow tree, from 2010. Photo by Laura Glazer.

A few years back Jess wrote about Phillip Patterson, a Columbia County man who was working to handwrite the entire King James bible. From 2010:

Phillip Patterson says he wouldn't necessarily classify himself as a religious person. In fact, some days he veers more toward agnosticism. But he found himself wondering about the bible.

"It's probably one of the most important tomes of Western Civilization," he explains. "We swear on it , we damn people with it, but no one's really read it. We read passages of it, but that's it."

So he decided that the best way for him to really, truly understand this book would be to hand-write it himself, line by line, page by page. He started working on in August 2007, and is now working on the third volume of what he expects will ultimately be 8 or 9 volumes in total.

As Patterson worked on the project, Laura Glazer -- of Hello Pretty City fame -- was documenting his effort through a series of photos.

Well, Patterson is now close to finishing the bible. He'll officially do so at an event at St. Peter's Presbyterian Church in Spencertown on May 11.

The AP's Michael Hill recently talked with both Phillip and Laura about the project now that it's nearing completion. As Phillip told him: "I hadn't counted on the fact that it would end up being beautiful ... Or that it would be so exhilarating. And so long."