Gary Snyder
[isbn]
Gary Snyder is a student of Buddha and Thoreau. Enclosed in The Practice of the Wild are nine essays on habitat, ecology, their interconnectedness, and an attempt to inspire our involvement in general care. The first ecosystem is the heart — our consciousness — and so long as it's covered up, the outside world will reflect how we treat ourselves. Perhaps Synder is attempting to illicit an awakening of our compassion and attention beyond... (read more)
Recommended by Dana S.
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W B Yeats, Richard J Finneran
[isbn]
The world is attractive — superficially and the deeper one goes. So much of the language, expressions, and conceptions we use today were developed gradually by humanity's thinkers, writers, and people in general, through arts and dialectic conversation. These Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats display the genesis of a writer honing in on the gripping narrative of perception from their early to ending days. It's a fascinating survey for those... (read more)
Recommended by Dana S.
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Collins, Billy
[isbn]
Ever felt like a sailor coursing through the ocean of a day? Billy Collins put out four books of poetry before this one, with titles such as Questions About Angels, The Apple that Astonished Paris, and Picnic, Lightning, that are enough to get the imagination stirring. Some of his favorite poems have made it into the collection beside his new poems. This is the first collection that he put together after the passing of his... (read more)
Recommended by Dana S.
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Emily Dickinson
[isbn]
The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson makes a good companion book. These poems fit between breaks, bus-stops, and long rides. Emily allows herself to write sincerely and seriously about the range of human experience, the quotidian, the emotive, and the transcendent. Perhaps the modern forerunner to contemporary poetry, she writes in quick beats that run parallel to the brevity of a moment. As with lives' instants, her poems come and go,... (read more)
Recommended by Dana S.
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Vivek Narayanan
[isbn]
Whatever purpose is served by a small well of water is naturally served in all respects by a large lake. The large lake, or ocean, of the Ramayana is reflected upon and responded to in After by Vivek Narayan, with lots of play on form and even language. The reader will encounter heartfelt expressions, the influence of timeless characters, and longing for connection.
Recommended by Dana S.
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Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird
[isbn]
Sometimes you just want to laugh and remember why it's all good, eat pizza with pals and say cowabunga! If now's not that time, you know where to find these renaissance turtles and their sage pops, Splinter!
Recommended by Dana S.
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Elizabeth Trembley
[isbn]
How can we put the past to bed? What does trauma look like for different people? Elizabeth A. Trembley guides us, panel by panel, through an attempt at helping us heal.
Recommended by Dana S.
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Gary Snyder
[isbn]
Meet Gary Snyder, you maybe read about him in On the Road and Dharma Bums (Japhy Ryder). He speaks for himself here, seeing the world through the lens of his blended Buddhism. In love with nature and mesmerized by her intricacy, care, and nurturing, his poems serve to remind us of the ground.
Recommended by Dana S.
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Mary Oliver
[isbn]
Does Mary Oliver's heart beat slower to be able to capture the delicacy of a morning, getting out of bed, or walking outside like she does? I don't know and pardon if the question is distracting. What I mean to say is that reading her work makes my heart beat slower, helps me feel how my life is poetic too. Lots of gratitude for this person.
Recommended by Dana S.
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Paul Reps
[isbn]
Paul Reps was on his way to meet a Zen master in Korea in the 50s. He went to the passport office but was denied due to a conflict just breaking out. He politely accepted the decision and turned around, went to sit on a bench, pulled out his thermos, and drank his green tea. Afterwards he wrote a haiku that made the employee cry. His visa was approved thereafter.
Recommended by Dana S.
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W S Merwin
[isbn]
Beauty is self-evident. Check out "Inheritance" on p. 32. If there's anything else I can add, I'll say this... Merwin translates some of Neruda's work, and now lives in Hawai'i with his wife, talking care of flowers. He's the real deal as a poet, and just may help wonderful images bloom in your heart.
Recommended by Dana S.
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Charles Simic
[isbn]
Flip to p. 17 and let me know what you think. Simic's poetry is bite-size and chock-full of the attention
that comes either after a lifetime of musing
or a true appreciation for the details that make life grand. Any book by him may just help you see the world anew.
Recommended by Dana S.
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Warren Ellis, Darick Robertson
[isbn]
Would you recognize a dystopia? Spider Jerusalem does, and he's trying to keep the world from falling deeper in disarray using a time-tested method — writing and talking about it all the time! Check out Transmetropolitan for a blast from the past guessing at the future.
Recommended by Dana S.
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Sonja Eismann and Maya Schoningh and Ingo Schoningh
[isbn]
A worthwhile narrative about love and people coming together for a common cause. Movements and Moments hopes to catalogue significant occurrences in the last 100 years that showcase the wholly powerful and compassionate force of feminine nature that has cared for the quiet voices around the world, untelevised and radical.
Recommended by Dana S.
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Mario Vargas Llosa
[isbn]
This book may be useful to all artists, creators, thinkers, musers, wanderers, etc. Since Llosa is writing to a friend, the tone is very conversational, yet quite profound. He says that the act of creation in general comes from a desire to see something new in the world and is itself revolutionary! Who isn't curious about what a creative revolution could like?!
Recommended by Dana S.
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Gary Lippman
[isbn]
How much meaning and emotion can language compress? Exploring flash fiction and transcending genre with this 100+ collection of
stories, Gary Lippman shares a book that feels like walking through a bustling city borough, while able to hear everyone's thoughts. How real and messy it all is.
Recommended by Dana S.
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