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Poetry as Spiritual Practice
Reading, Writing, and Using Poetry in Your Daily Rituals,
Aspirations, and Intentions
Just as Writing Down the Bones was the first book
to teach writing as spiritual practice, Poetry as Spiritual
Practice is the first instructional guide to combine poetry
and spirituality in an innovative program that, in its elegant,
small-format edition, will also become a beloved inspirational
companion.
Even in collections of religious poetry, little
has been said about how and why poetry is the source language
of devotion and the richest expression of spiritual practice
in prayer, chant, and song. Now, however, Poetry as
Spiritual Practice invites readers to recognize poetry
as the "the pure sound and shape of their spirit."
Like the popular 10 Poems to Change Your Life, this beautiful
book gives readers the tools to help them explore poetry's
sound and language, its rhythms, meters, and forms, in a reflective
writing and reading process that leads to deeper awareness
and daily enjoyment.
Popular workshop leader and author of three
books of poetry, McDowell illustrates his teachings with excerpts
from a wide range of well-known poems-good and bad-as well
as his own and his students' work to make this a treasury
of poetry with deep, abiding messages from all historical
eras and all religions and faiths. Interactive exercises and
guided meditations help readers put the methods and messages
into practice by integrating poetry into their daily path
and spiritual journey.
Poetry as Spiritual Practice
will benefit all seekers as it deepens and expands their ongoing
inquiry into the most profound mysteries.
# # #
Robert McDowell's poems, stories, essays,
and reviews have appeared in hundreds of magazines and anthologies
here and abroad, including Best American Poetry, Poetry, The
New Criterion, Sewanee Review, and The Hudson Review. He also
offers one-on-one mentoring and coaching for businesses and
groups interested in improving their spiritual awareness,
listening, communication, writing, and presentation skills.
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR
POETRY AS SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
“At the same time that Robert McDowell
is teaching us to approach the reading and writing of poems
as acts of prayer in his brilliantly insightful book, Poetry
as Spiritual Practice, he is quietly doing another astonishing
thing: creating community. McDowell’s exercises
at the end of each chapter liberate poetry from a solitary
contemplative practice to a collective celebration of the
sacred. I will share this book with everyone I love.”—Mirabai
Starr, author of new translations of Dark Night of
the Soul by John of the Cross and The Interior Castle
and The Book of My Life by Teresa of Avila
“Reading this lovely guide awakens in you a deeper appreciation
for poetry and messages of the Spirit. It communicates a poet's
soul—and helps you articulate that deep place of truth
for yourself.”—Caroline Myss, author of Entering
the Castle and Anatomy of the Spirit
“In the way that Rumi allowed us to touch the heart of
our soul, Robert McDowell—with a lyrical grace—shows
you how to easily create poetry that can propel your spiritual
journey beyond normal reality into cherished mystic realms.”—Denise
Linn, author of Sacred Space and The Secret
Language of Signs
# # #
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INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Heidi Metcalfe
Publicity Manager
Free Press
1230 Ave of the Americas, FL 13
New York, NY 10020
212.698.2358
212.632.4989 (fax)
heidi.metcalfe@simonandschuster.com
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Free Press
Language Arts and Disciplines
4 7/8 x 7 1/4, 272 pages
Carton quantity: 20
ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-6650-2
ISBN-10: 1-4165-6650-3
$20.00 hardcover
$23.50 in Canada
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