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The Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart: Poems for Men

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Kudos
From Mid-90's until today these poems create new Images
Disregard the "canned" editorial on this anthology
Good Medicine for the Male Soul
treasures untold

The Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart: Poems for Men

Manufacturer: Harpercollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:

Soul Is Here For Its Own Joy
A Little Book on the Human Shadow
Iron John: A Book About Men
King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine
Fire in the Belly: On Being a Man

ASIN: 0060167440

Book Description

Robert Bly, James Hillman, and Michael Meade challenge the assumptions of our poetry-deprived society in this powerful collection of more than 400 deeply moving poems from renowned artists including Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, Theodore Roethke, Rainer Maria Rilke, Marianne Moore, Thomas Wolfe, Czeslaw Milosz, and Henry David Thoreau.

Customer Reviews:

Kudos.......2007-01-20

What a superb collection! An anthology that can be read and re-read many times without feeling repetition. I feel sorry for anyone wanting to get a hold of it if and when it goes out of print.

From Mid-90's until today these poems create new Images.......2005-10-28

After my years of professional activities were completed, I had never expected to lose memory of these unforgetable unimaginably pure images of "Changing Diapers, (Gary Snyder) or "Sailing to Byzantium" (WB Yeats) or "The United Fruit Co" (Pablo Neruda.)

After contributing my early copy to the Prison Library, I never thought I would need see that familar print again: But...I Did!

Editors, Robert Bly, James Hillman, and Michael Meade combined a short Introduction, preceeded by these poignant thoughts from William Butler Yeats: "Those masterful images because complete/ Grew in pure mind, but out of what began? ...Old kettles, old bottles... Old iron, old bones, old rags...I must lie down where all the ladders start, In the foul rag-and-bone shop of the heart."

If being reminded in twelve selections of William Butler Yeats, added to dozens of Robert Bly, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, E. E.Cummings, Langston Hughes, John Keats, Stanley Kunitz, Dylan Thomas, William Blake, Walt Whitman, 500 pages of familiar and new poems, surely is sufficient then check out groupings under a few orderly headings: "Father's Prayers for Sons and Daughters; WAR; I Know the Earth and I Am Sad; The House of Fathers and Titans; Making A Hole In Denial; Zaniness!" Completely fitting these six most unque titles are combined with ten more, equally imaginative and descriptive!

From the perspective of a Poetry Addict, into being a creator of my own poems, not yet note-worthy, I am back in "Poetry Heaven," with this second memorable discovery of rich word treasures! Sing-cerely from a retired Singer and Chaplain Fred W Hood

Disregard the "canned" editorial on this anthology.......2004-11-13

This is, indeed, a collection of poetry which is multi-dimensional. The "canned" editorial above, from Publisher's Weekly, is a narrow-minded interpretation of the "purpose" of this collection of poetry. Whoever wrote the "canned" editorial has no understanding of men's struggle to redefine their role and character, constructively, to find a place in the twenty first century. Although many of the poems are multi-dimensional, the anthology as a whole, leads a man out of denial, into the heart, into the spirit, and, ultimately into a celebration of masculinity which misandry (hatred of men) has outlawed for almost half a century.

This anthology celebrates a new masculinity. One that is grounded in compassion, awareness, and, ultimately, the most important aspects of our existence as men.

For instance, one of the most important poems in the collection is Goethe's "The Invisible King." Through Goethe's genius we come to understand, as men, that if we deny the murmurs and whispering of our souls, we do so at grave peril to that which is most dear to us.

Buy it if you dare become something more than Madison Avenue made men in the 1980's and 1990's.

Good Medicine for the Male Soul.......2004-03-31

If you loved Iron John, you should read this book. But if you either (1) didn't read Iron John, (2) tried to read but couldn't finish Iron John, or (3) hated Iron John, you should especially read this book. I have to say up front that I don't agree with, or perhaps understand, many aspects and details of the men's movement. I was one person who tried mightily to read and enjoy Iron John, but simply couldn't get all the way through it. Then I found this book, and I have been reading it since. This was 10 years ago. I am exaggerating of course, but only a little. This book is a constant in my reading habits. I refer to it again and again, and have recommended it (and purchased it) for more friends than any other book I know.

Simply, this is a wonderful anthology of poetry, organized thematically, for men. Many of the individual poems are brilliant, and the overall organization is intelligent and, at times, profound. As I have grappled with marriage, fatherhood, aging parents--all the trappings of midlife--this book has been a constant source of wisdom and comfort for me. Do a kind thing for yourself or for a thoughtful man in your life and buy this book.

treasures untold.......2004-02-29

Treasures untold, indeed. This is the finest, most inspiring and least predictable contemporary poetry anthology I have ever come across. It has introduced me (I am British, and certain of the US
poets featured are not so well-known over here) to, among many others, Balaban, Nowlen and the wonderful Robert Haydon - his poem about his father is heartbreaking, a perfect poem.
Bly is a hero. I`ve long loved his poetry and his approach to the art. Here, with his compadres, he has given us a cornucopia of living, fire-breathing verse to live, love and get lost in for ever.
`Volume Two?`

The Beloved: Reflections on the Path of the Heart (Arkana)

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The Beloved: Reflections on the path of the heart
When Love calls nothing can stand in its way!
Soul-Based Wisdom on Affairs of the Heart
OK
Reflections on the path of the heart

The Beloved: Reflections on the Path of the Heart (Arkana)
Kahlil Gibran
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Prophet
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Love Letters

ASIN: 014019553X

Book Description

Exquisite writings on love, marriage, and the spiritual union of souls add a fresh dimension to our understanding of the philosophy of love and the transformation of one's life through its all-encompassing power.

Customer Reviews:

The Beloved: Reflections on the path of the heart.......2006-11-10

Very nicely writen, warms the heart and reminds me to follow my heart regardless of the outside pressures.

When Love calls nothing can stand in its way!.......2006-08-27

"His power came from some great reservoir of spiritual life else it could not have been so universal and so potent, but the majesty and beauty of the language with which he clothed it were all his own." -- Claude Bragdon

Kahlil Gibran, on Love:
Love was the central theme of Gibran's life which he expressed in prose poems, and drawings; "Just reading the English translation for this collection of his love-related Arabic works makes my bones ache with the amazing insights he portrays through moving language." ankh fire

"Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart,
and a song of praise upon your lips."
G. Khalil Gibran

The Beloved:
For Gibran, love was the eternal way for any human being to reach completeness, in self realization transforming their life by the power of the encounter with the beloved;
"Who among you would not cross the seas, traverse deserts,
go over mountains and valleys to reach the woman whom his spirit has chosen?
What youth would not follow his heart to the ends of the earth
to breathe the sweetness of his lover's breath, feel the soft touch of her hands,
delight in the melody of her voice?"

The Arkana Edition:
This Penguin Arkana edition of the unique selection of Gibrans writings on the mystical union in love and marriage which he dedicated to the spirit that embraced his spirit and the heart that poured its secrets into his heart, will kindle a fire in the emotions of poetry responsive readers like Ankh fire.
The introduction by Robin Waterfield is concise but eloquent and informing. The translator John Walbridge of Indiana University, who lived and studied in the Middle East introduced G. Khalil Gibran, in a nice biography analyzing his thought, and how he liberated traditional Arabic of his time, writing in a simple diction of modern new form. He compares the passion expressed in his early writings, with the its Lebanese setting and American influence. This new translation of the gifted poet's early Arabic composition is a contemporary fresh one which reflects the original text more closely.

G. Kahlil Gibran, 1883-1931:
I encountered Gibran before appreciating Arabic poetry, as a young kid I was amazed by the beauty of his art and the romance of his expression, in 'The Prophet.' Later, I read him in Arabic, before I found out how the Libanese emigrant poet has touched the Western hearts. This collection of Gibran's early stories, parables and poetic prose, were written in Arabic before his works were translated into English, earning him the nickname 'the Shelly of the Orient.' Many Arabic speaking intelligentsia, including my dad thought he has qualified to have been a Nobel Laureate!

Soul-Based Wisdom on Affairs of the Heart.......2006-07-18

Love isn't supposed to hurt. A sage's perspective on the matters of real love.

OK.......2001-06-24

This book was ok, but didn't touch me as much as "the prophet" did.

Reflections on the path of the heart.......2001-04-18

For Khalil Gibran, love was a way perhaps a supreme way of achieving self-realization and completeness as a human being. Anyone can live their life transformed by the all consuming power of an encounter with "The Beloved". Particularly in the Eastern cultures there are people trapped in joyless or organized marriages; their passions sacrificed to convention. It is these segments of people that Gibran has brilliantly targeted. Gibran can write very complex social issues in quite simple terms. He can make these issues in a way that can make the reader feel one is taking a walk in a quiet wood, or bathing in a cool stream.

During the course of his reading one can observe that Gibran is a fervernt and outspoken champion of the cause of human rights. He has waged a struggle to strengthen the recognition of youth's freedom of action in love, and abolish from the social structure some of the prevailing ancient marriage customs. He has a strong condemnation of traditions of pre-arranged marriages of children by their parents, in complete disregard of the wishes of those so betrothed.

The ill-fated story of Lyla in `The Brides Bed' is an eye witness account recorded by Khalil. Lyla with courage, anguish and heroism broke in fury from this custom. She brought as a result on her self consequences extremely tragic. This is best described in Khalil's prose:

"... Come you cowards! Fear not the specter of death whose greatness will refuse to approach your littleness and dread not this dagger, for it is a divine instrument which declines to touch your filthy bodies and empty hearts. Look at this handsome youth, he is my beloved and I killed him because I love him. .... We sought a bed worthy of our love in this world which you have made so small with your ignorance and traditions. .... Then the bride lifted her dagger towards the sky, and like a thirsty person who brings the edge of a drinking glass to her lips, she bought it down and planted it in her chest..."

In the `Vision' he describes the social convention issue faced by one:

".. I am a lost human heart, imprisoned in the foul dungeons of mans dictates; tied with chains of earthly authority, dead and forgotten by laughing humanity whose tounge is tied and whose eyes are empty of visible tears. ..."

Heart to Heart : New Poems Inspired by Twentieth-Century American Art

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Amazing!
Getting to the Heart of Art

Heart to Heart : New Poems Inspired by Twentieth-Century American Art
Jan Greenberg
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0810943867

Book Description

What do we feel when we look at a great work of art/ What does a poet feel/ Heart to Heart offers an original way to approach poetry and art—with new works by distinguished American poets, specially commissioned for this book by editor Jan Greenberg. Prompted by paintings, sculpture, prints, and photographs by American artists working in the 20th century, these poems lend a new meaning to “art appreciation” and make each page of Heart to Heart an exciting discovery.

Join such poets as Jane Yolen, Nancy Willard, X. J. Kennedy, Naomi Shihab Nye, David Mura, and Angela Johnson as they reveal a personal, heartfelt response to works by Thomas Hart Benton, Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Grandma Moses, Faith Ringgold, Man Ray, Georgia O'Keeffe, and many others. Whether the poems are playful, challenging, tender, mocking, humorous, sad, or sensual, each work of art, seen through the eyes of a poet, allows readers to look at the world with new insight.

Customer Reviews:

Amazing!.......2006-04-22

An amazing work of art! The poets are well matched with the art they chose and the poems are good enough to give you chills. A must for any serious collector of contemporary poetry.

Getting to the Heart of Art.......2003-03-28

This is a great book for artists and non artists alike. It is a useful tool for any age group in understanding visual imagery. The poetry is done in response to art that ranges in style and media, giving the reader/viewer a wide exposure to the arts.

The poerty is crisp, interesting and meaningful to contemporary culture without being trite or overly stylized.

This book is a great educational resource, coffee table book, or good cure for the common boredom!

From Sand Creek: Rising in This Heart Which Is Our America (Sun Tracks)

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Offers a spiritual center

From Sand Creek: Rising in This Heart Which Is Our America (Sun Tracks)
Simon J. Ortiz
Manufacturer: University of Arizona Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0816519935

Customer Reviews:

Offers a spiritual center.......2000-04-14

In November 1864 in Colorado Territory a village of Cheyenne and Arapaho was savagely assaulted by the Colorado Volunteers under the leadership of the Reverend Colonel Chivington. Ortiz calls to mind this event in prose, and then offers on the facing page poetry of hope and renewal. That is how this remarkable book begins. Throughout the book, the author (one of the best American poets writing today) pairs poems on one page with historical vignettes, personal notes, and political comments on the facing page. The book moves through alcohol treatment in VA hospitals, American mythology that undergirds a sense of mission, episodes in Indian-white relations, and many other such topics. In this work Ortiz builds toward a vision of America that is political committed, spiritually centered, and humanizing. He expresses this vision in full knowledge and acceptance of the awful truths of patterns of mistreatment and oppression. Unlike so much of the patriotism that is rooted in a "my country right or wrong" attitude, Ortiz writes as an Acoma Pueblo Indian and US citizen who loves this country deeply for what it can be.

I came to this book a number of years ago full of anger and cynicism developing as a result of learning the history that had been suppressed from the school curriculum. I had always been deeply patriotic, but was finding the truth might shatter that. Ortiz offered more evidence of the lies, but placed these facts in a framework of a dream "of love and compassion and knowledge" (96). No book has done more for the development of my sense of myself as a white American. From my point of view this book is simply the best book in print (and it was out of print for several years).

Opal: The Journal of an Understanding Heart

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Not the original
See Benjamin Hoff's version
Making the everyday sacred
Regarding the authenticity of Opal's diary...
This book's authenticity is in question.

Opal: The Journal of an Understanding Heart
Opal Whiteley
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Fabulous Opal Whiteley

ASIN: 0517885166
Release Date: 1995-10-03

Book Description

A lyrical, lovely, and deeply touching adaptation of an authentic journal kept by an orphaned six-year-old girl--later believed to be a French princess--living in an Oregon lumber camp at the turn of the century. 24 black-and-white photographs.

Customer Reviews:

Not the original.......2005-07-25

It is important to understand that this is an adaptation. It is not identical with the original text published in 1920. This version has been abbreviated and rearranged.

See Benjamin Hoff's version.......2004-12-12

This is a presentation of a portion of the childhood diary of Opal Whitely. Included is introductory material in which it is accepted that Opal's explanation of her Bourbon geneology may be valid. Larry Looney's excellent review describes this version of events. Opal believed that she had been of royal Bourbon birth, then orphaned and adopted by a rustic family of Oregonians.

Opal's unflattering portray of her "wicked stepmother" and her assertion that she was a surviving Bourbon caused quite a stir back in her hometown. It was pointed out that the girl looked like her rustic Oregonian kinfolk. People always wondered if the diary was too good to be true. Now the cry of "Fraud!" was voiced across the land.

Hoff seems to be getting to the bottom of things as he declares it highly unlikely that Opal Whitely secured outdated crayons and paper types to write a childhood diary upon, which she then tore into thousands of pieces and then reassembled. He also thinks it highly unlikely that she was an heir to the Bourbon dynasty. Rather, Opal was different and misunderstood. "Melancholy" ran in her mother's family, and her mother was harsh with her, fostering Opal's development of a rich imaginary life.

Even if the journal was written by a committee appointed by the Pope with assistance from Goebbels it's the most beautiful thing you could ever read. People say no child could write that. I say no adult could.

I prefer Benjamin Hoff's version, though. I find his understanding of the author more penetrating. Opal was special. Under different circumstances, who knows what kind of life she could have lived. It is hard to believe it would have been ordinary.

Making the everyday sacred.......2004-09-27

I read a quotation from this book long ago and knew I had to track it down. Little Opal is alive to everything, and she turns everything she experiences into a hymn to life. When I feel the mundane pressing down on me, I pick up this book and feel my heart lighten.

Is the book "authentic"? Was it really written by a lonely little girl out in the wilds on scraps of whatever paper came to hand. Frankly, I don't think it much matters. What matters is the creation of a spiritual tool which will endure and enchant.

Does changing the format of the original printing matter? I think that presenting Opal's writings as poetry serve them much better than as a flat prose rendition. If one really wished to represent the work accurately, it would have to be recreated as an exact copy of all those hundreds of little pieces of paper on which Opal wrote her words. The poetic treatment is very satisfactory to me, and I think most readers will also find it so.

Regarding the authenticity of Opal's diary..........2003-04-16

Re: the reader review that said "This book's authenticity is in question..."

I refer you to the exhaustive research that Benjamin Hoff conducted and later decribed in his introduction to The Singing Creek Where the Willows Grow that argues very convincingly for the diary's authenticity, and disproves and discredits her detractors.

Opal was the real deal, and a true genius.

This book's authenticity is in question........2002-01-07

Take a look at the Portland newspaper, The Oregonian, for January 6, 2002. An article recommending Opal to Northwestern readers also questions the authenticity of the allegedly precocious young Opal. Apparently, she turned up in Los Angeles without a diary or notes; two years later, a box of diary notes with a surprisingly literary, sophisticated mentality arrived at the publisher's. So: the book may be good, but it may have been written by the adult Opal as she was on the verge of mental illness.

The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America

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Heart Aroused
Connections Found!
The Heart Aroused
In My Mind: A Classic
"What profit a man...."

The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America
David Whyte
Manufacturer: Currency
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Crossing the Unknown Sea
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Everything Is Waiting for You

ASIN: 0385423500
Release Date: 1994-04-01

Amazon.com

The call for increased creativity in the workplace brings with it a concomitant challenge: how will the world of cool professionalism stand up to the inevitable heat and volatility that accompanies people's emotional and spiritual lives? It is problematic to assume, poet David Whyte explains, that you can ask people to create and also to behave. The Heart Aroused explores these and related issues in an inspiring, grounded, thought-provoking way, and is the best nonverse book by a poet since Robert Bly's Iron John. Interwoven with carefully selected poems to illustrate Whyte's points, The Heart Aroused is necessary reading for any professional who secretly harbors a poet's soul.

Book Description

Only a poet could produce such a provocative analysis of today's widespread disenchantment with business -- or such a daring prescription for using the classics of poetry to revitalize the soul of corporate America.

Customer Reviews:

Heart Aroused.......2007-01-04

Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant! If you have a soul, buy this book. If you are not sure....buy this book. This book is an excellent exploration into the meaning of life + my job the incubus = a poetic awakening. David Whyte is a wonderful philosopher.

Connections Found!.......2006-12-15

Whyte has a unique capacity to make powerful connections between the inner core that fills us with emotion and caring and the places we do our work, sometimes even at the place where our job is located, though not often. His observation that we leave as much as 55% of our true self "in the car" each day when we go in our office to work is so powerfully true. I dare say there are few among us who cannot relate to that feeling. And yet, it is the 55% of ourselves that the company we work for really wants and needs but rarely gets. Unfortunately because of the patriarchal environments that many organizations (not always corporations or even private sector businesses) create we all too often find no real fulfillment in the workplace. That is sad because I never have read any mission statements that pronounce "We ABSOLUTELY are not going to have fun or like one another around here." That makes me think that the realized, oppressives outcome are not intentional. However, we often find ourselves working in and hating very dysfunctional cultures, even if not by design. Whyte introduces the concept of hope in a effort to replace the all-too-present doubt and hegemony of the workplace. We may not be able to express ourselves freely at work but Whyte allows us some freedom to dream of that possibility during our reading of this book.

The Heart Aroused.......2006-04-07

David Whyte writes in a truly inspiring way. When I worked at the Monterey Bay Aquarium many of us read this book as we struggled to grow better as an organization. This book was the catalyst to many personal "AH HA!" moments. Not just for me, but for many of my colleagues as well. From there I found myself in love with poetry again too. David's poetry is powerful and meaningful. The heart aroused is your own, and worth coming back to.

In My Mind: A Classic.......2002-09-10

This book is already on the way to becoming a well known classic now but I first encountered it in a very private and personal way at a crucial time in my life when it first appeared a few years ago. I felt very thankful then that someone had been able to speak to the hidden qualities of my work life and set me on more of a courageous path as a result. Having just reread it I realize now why it had such a profound effect on me: The Heart Aroused really does speak to a person whatever threshold of life they might find themselves on. A hearty recommendation then to anyone wondering about the hopes raised by the title, it more than fullfils its promise.

"What profit a man....".......2002-04-26

Frankly, I found this to be an especially demanding book even when reading it for a second time. Whyte requires of his reader a rigorous as well as truthful self-exploration, and in ways and to an extent few other authors do. As is so often true in other dimensions of human experience, the benefits derived from reading his book are almost wholly dependent upon how much is personally invested in it. As Whyte explains, he wrote this book "hoping it would be read in two ways. First, as a good story about the difficulties and dramas of preserving the soul at work -- in short, a page-turner; second, as a book that could be studied, contemplated, and discussed with others." More than 50 years ago, Mortimer Adler affirmed the value of reading the "great books" because they stimulate and enrich what he called "a conversation across the centuries." I think this is what Whyte has in mind when providing, in the book's final section (a "User's Guide"), a number of thoughts for reflection and discussion as well as for self-questioning. For example: "What is my heart's desire in life? What are some of the particularities of the way I like to live? What are the essential qualities that give me a sense of belonging? How can work be a good servant to my essential nature instead of a taskmaster?" As I now reflect on this book after a second reading, I think its greatest value lies not only in the truth of what Whyte expresses so eloquently but also in what his assertions and questions require his readers to consider as they seek spiritual fulfillment in their own lives. Those who my high regard for this book are urged to read Whyte's other books, especially Crossing the Unknown: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity and Fire in the Earth; also, to check out David Maister's Practice What You Preach and Tim Sanders' Love Is the Killer App as well as Eliyahu M. Goldratt's The Goal, Critical Acclaim, and It's Not Luck.

The Heart of God: Prayers of Rabindranath Tagore

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The Heart of God: Prayers of Rabindranath Tagore
Timeless Prayers of Tagore
The Heart of God: Prayers of Rabindranath Tagore
read this if you have a tender heart or in quest of one

The Heart of God: Prayers of Rabindranath Tagore

Manufacturer: Tuttle Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0804835764

Customer Reviews:

The Heart of God: Prayers of Rabindranath Tagore.......2007-02-17

this is a wonderful bedside book...the poems are what i would call in depth minimalist style writings...this might be a contradiction in terms but every word is positioned just right in tagors syntax...he is i guess what you would say famous for his going to the core of what he is trying to say...yet he excludes nothing and every poem is titled well...so you can a navigate the book with ease...this is my first tagore book and i have another...fireflies...on the way...pleasant reading

Timeless Prayers of Tagore.......2005-09-01

This collection of seventy-seven poems of the Nobel Laureate poet of India is taken from seven sources of his poetry. The editor has skillfully degenderized and introduced contemporary language where he deemed appropriate. The beauty of Tagore's spirit and his eloquence will be augmented for some by the editor's gifts. Long familiar with Tagore's own translations of his poetry, I find in this collection extreme satisfaction in accessing the presence of the poet in images of rare beauty. This book is an important addition to the literature, providing
fresh acquaintance with a master poet.

The Heart of God: Prayers of Rabindranath Tagore.......2001-10-30

In prayers and poems of depth and simplicity,Tagore expresses his very soul...which is somehow the soul of each of us.

Obviously a spiritual master, he speaks for each of our hearts with a depth of compassion and honesty that embraces universal and timeless themes. Human struggle, delight, quest, hope, trust, joy, despair, and peace are expressed in a compelling commitment to Love which draws him only into deeper intimacy with the Beloved.

Tagore puts into words a love which surpasses understanding, time, or any methodology. He speaks in his writings a very human, very real, very tender love letter to the Divine.

I liked this book because it draws me also into the heart of God.

read this if you have a tender heart or in quest of one.......2000-04-11

everyone will have something to worry about,some unfulfilled ambitions. This is a collection of the poet's mystic prayers.I am sure this will move anyone with a tender heart. He was the composer of the Indian national anthem and was also a social reformer and a romantic. This makes me wonder if he wanted to address these questions to god. My immediate goal is to learn bengali and read his poems in his own language. I am also looking forward to read his gitanjali which got him the nobel prize.

Festival in My Heart: Poems by Japanese Children

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beautiful, sweet, and nice to read with the kids
children make simple breathtaking

Festival in My Heart: Poems by Japanese Children

Manufacturer: Harry N Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0810933144

Customer Reviews:

beautiful, sweet, and nice to read with the kids.......2007-03-30

A beautiful book of children's poems, translated from Japanese to English. The poems present a delightful children's perspective on the world. My 8 year old really enjoys reading these poems becuase he can tell that they come from the mind of other children. The book is filled with handsome color and black and white Japanese water colors. The layout leaves plenty of open space, so the book conveys a quiet peacefulness, like a Japanese tea garden. The publisher is Abrams, a first-rate art house, and it shows. The paper stock is thick and rich, the binding is solid. This is one that the kids will enjoy and the parents will appreciate. Highly recommended.

children make simple breathtaking.......2001-07-08

children have always had a refreshing view of the world that adults seem to loose- but now some has been captured and all are free to return again and again to majestical snapshots of our existence. long time poets will salivate with jelousy at the primal beauty of these children's works, read it all and savour the effects it has on your perception of language.

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For the beginners...
Creative Collaboration
Passionate and moving
He doesn't play for respect,
Sting Sees Picasso

Shape Of My Heart (Art & Poetry Series)
Sting
Manufacturer: Welcome Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Broken Music

ASIN: 0941807207
Release Date: 1998-09-01

Amazon.com

"I know that the spades are swords of a soldier / I know that the clubs are weapons of war / I know that diamonds mean money for this art / But that's not the shape of my heart." So goes the chorus of Shape of My Heart, lyrics composed and sung by Grammy Award-winning songwriter Sting. In this lovely, oversized book, Sting's words are spread across the pages and complemented with paintings by the visionary artist Pablo Picasso. This treatment allows for a leisurely and thoughtful contemplation of both the poetry and the artwork, as the words and images play with and against each other, sparking readers' imaginations. The combination is an evocative and powerful one, perhaps because both artists are known for opening minds and hearts--shedding fresh, revealing light on what we thought we already understood completely. --Brangien Davis

Book Description

Shape of My Heart marries the hautning lyrics of pop icon Sting with the mesmerizing images of Pablo Picasso, perhaps the greatest artist of the twentieth century. The result is a scintillating look at how the forces of love and desire will enrich and complicate life.

Sting's lyrics from his amazing song echo the feelings of an entire generation. Here is a true love song from the 1990s, full of ambiguities, self-doubt, hope, and mysticism. In Sting's vision, we discover that the truth of the heart is often masked by forces beyond our control. These are words that reverberate with feeling, much like the images painted by the ever controversial Picasso.

Both these artists share the ability to make the world see itself in a new light. Picasso painted his subjects--particularly the women he loved--unlike any artist before or after him, and the world was changed because of his vision. In a similar way, the complexity of Sting's words elevate and expand popular music into previously uncharted territory.

Together, these words and images--like all messages from the heart--will make the perfect gift of love.

Customer Reviews:

For the beginners..........2004-02-02

It is clear that Sting loves Picasso's Art but this book is not but a small step in the very long path trought the human heart that the two atrists shared in so many points.
Just a blink: a little thing that doesn't show the glory of Sting and Picasso. Quite an artificial mirror.
Let's continue searching, we will find a much greater treasure.

Creative Collaboration.......2002-11-13

Okay, so Sting and Picasso didn't really collaborate together on this, but the combination of Sting's lovely lyrics and Picasso's abstract art results in an absolute treasure of a book. This beautiful book is a wonderful way to appreciate (or be introduced to) the work of two diverse artists. In this context, Sting's lyrics really demonstrate their worth as poetry.

Parents beware, however, that some of the art work contains some of Picasso's dark images and some nudity. It may not be something you leave on the coffee table, though it is a beautiful book.

The Art and Poetry Series is a great idea, well executed. I recommend picking up other titles in the series.

Passionate and moving.......2002-09-24

I bought this book for a friend of mine. It was a perfect mix of art and words. The Picasso's are perfect for the lyrics. I have a few of these books and they are nice for any art lvoer's collection.

He doesn't play for respect,.......2000-04-02

he plays for us all. Sting's song is a haunting, beautifully composed melody from one of the most intelligent song-writers of contemporary times; beautifully if not always ideally complemented by Picasso's artwork. The marriage of poetry and art was slightly more successful in the case of Matisse and Leonard Cohen (Dance Me To The End of Love), and in the case of Cummings and Chagall (May I Feel? Said He), but it is still of a very high standard. Had I not already experienced the other two books, I would certainly have believed that this was the best of its type. The layout and font is as always, perfectly chosen, and the book is a great pleasure to look at, like all the books in this series. It is a must-buy by any standard, anyhow! A friend tells me that this is the song played in the film "Leon", so there's a film which I must watch in the future! I hope that everyone who enjoyed this book goes on to find the rest of the books in this sequence, and discovers what a really good combination of words and images can be like.

Sting Sees Picasso.......2000-03-28

The beautifully printed and organized "Shape of My Heart" is a tribute both to the allusive, poetic strength of Sting's writing, and the enigmatic, evocative art of Pablo Picasso. The Picasso paintings follow the lines of the Sting song "Shape of My Heart," which can be heard on his album Ten Summoner's Tales. Listening to this song while flipping through the book is truly a beautiful and moving experience, and one of the few times I know of that visual arts and music truly come together. This would make a great gift for a friend, either artist or musician or poet; as well as something for yourself, for the moments when you're wondering what the shape of your heart is. Melancholy, brooding perhaps, but also profoundly affirming, this is an effective piece of art as well as literature.

James Wright: The Heart of the Light (Under Discussion)

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James Wright: The Heart of the Light (Under Discussion)

Manufacturer: University of Michigan Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0472094033

Book Description

Collects the finest critical writing on one of the masters of American poetry

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