The Enlightened Heart - Edited by Stephen Mitchell

Okay. It's been awhile since the old girl did a book report. Of ANY kind!

And what's a book review but a gussied up book report? So where do I start?

I have to say that half way through The Enlightened Heart, I thought to myself what an unlikely book this was to start with. I've never been a poetry reader - unless it was assigned, or I happened to come across one that caught my eye in a magazine.

I have always been a fiction novel reader for the most part - through I never met a Arthur C. Clarke or Isaac Asimov short story I didn't like! (Or Anne McCaffery, etc. Looks like fantasy and sci-fic short fiction rocks the house with me!) But I have to say, I enjoyed this one. Not in the sense of a read that takes you to a totally different place. But because it was such a different type of reading experience for me.

The Enlightened Heart consists of verses from 49 different writers or sources. They include authors or sources that were familiar to me, at the very least by name (Emily Dickinson, the Book of Psalms, Walt Whitman) and those I have never heard of (Kukai, Kabir, George Herbert).

In looking at some of the names on the back of the book (all authors and sources are listed there) you can be forgiven for saying to yourself "What the heck is D. H. Lawrence doing listed in a book of Sacred Poetry?”. But every poem/verse in this book speaks to, or reflects upon the concept of God or what to make of life in a spiritual context.

I love the choice from William Shakespeare, a verse from the Tempest, which includes the line "We are such stuff as dreams are made on and our little life is rounded by a sleep" It is the contemplation of that life rounded by a sleep that all these authors/sources are reflecting on.

The editors choices range from the very short to the, perhaps overlong, (Rilke, I must say, I found both long and downright boring). But long or short, boring or no, I found food for thought in all of them, those I felt I understood and those I frankly did not. And getting the chance to sample from so many different spiritual traditions and viewpoints was definitely refreshing!

Looking at the ones I post-it flagged to remember (my book is a bristle with them!), I see I tend towards the more universal thoughts - no dogmatist I! ; - ) Admittedly, this book is light on the dark night of the soul poems that might challenge a bit more. That being said, I still recommend you pick it up if you're ready to have your mind pricked just a bit on both the poetic and spiritual tip. It left me thinking I would like to read more of some of these authors poetry.

It was a pleasant way to start my reading journey!

Ground Rules....

Okay, I'm not just "technically" finished -- I'm finished! Biographical and bibliographical notes and all! So while I mull over what I think of this book -- a few blog ground rules:


1. Okay, you already know this, but I'm no pro! So my reviews will be as much about how I felt about the book as whether or not I thought the book was well written, or so derivative, or not the author's best work or yada, yada, yada -- you get the idea! If you're craving that kind of thing - I've placed a link to the NY Times book review page under Links to the left. Just remember - you gotta register!


2. When ever possible, I will place a pic of the book I'm reviewing, whether I thought it was good or bad, in the review. Personally, I always like to see what the book looks like -- just in case I decide I would like to read it, I know what I'm looking for!

Full Disclosure: Most of the time it will be an affiliate link image to Amazon -- my favorite online book store! But in the interest of fairness, I will have links to other online booksellers as well under my Links section. If the bookseller has an affiliate program, it will be an affiliate link. If not it will just be an old-fashioned url link. Yeah I know, how retro but what can you do? ; - ) Feel free to let me know via comments, if you have a favorite bookstore (online or not) that has a website. I'll check it out and try to add it to my Links section. I have to say that I do favor sites I have actually had successful dealings with.

3. I won't just be bloggin' 'bout books. If I come across an interesting magazine or newspaper article that I think is worth mentioning, it will appear here!

4. To repeat -- I'm not a pro, this is not a job! So my post will be occasional at best. I'll try to be timely with my reviews -- but hey, as an instructor of mine once stated "Life happens!" ; - )

Well I think that about does it! Let the fun begin! ; - )

I DID IT!!!!!

I finished! Hurray!!!!!

(Well, technically, I finished - I'm still reading the notes at the end - but does that really count?)

Yeah, I know what you're thinking -- so she finished a 174 page book -- whoopee with a small w!
But considering how I've been going about this so far -- well I consider it a triumph!

And now on to the review! I'm going to give myself a day or so to think about the book before I start typing!

Excuses, Excuses......

Okay, one would think that for someone who in her youth, could plow through practically a book a day, that 26 books in a year would be nothing.

NOT!!!!!!

First of all, it took forever for me to settle on a book to start with! Me, with so many books in my now smaller space, me with so many books in this smaller space that I have yet to read! It is a testament to how tenative I have become -- even to the point of being unable to commit to a single book! Not a good thing!

Anyway, I finally decided on The Enlightened Heart - An Anthology of Sacred Poetry, Edited by Stephen Mitchell. Frankly it seemed a good bet -- it is small, only 171 pages with biographical notes, bibliographical notes, translator notes and acknowledgments! I figured I could breeze through it.

NOT!!!!

One, I find that, unlike my younger days, when I had all the time in the world to loose myself in words, these days that time must be stolen from the rest of my life. It's proving to be a thieving I'm not good at!

Second, unlike my younger days, the distractions of other amusements is greater by far that when I was young and TV channels totaled 5 at best!

I must confess -- part of the issue is that I am addicted to the Harvest Moon Gameboy game! I'm not sure why -- perhaps it is the relatively straight-line process of reaching goals that the game provides. A very different experience from real life! But playing it has been eating up time for reading -- and there is the crux of the matter!

But game obsessions is whole other issue! Let's stay focused on the book. I'm finding poetry to be a much more challenging read than I had imagined. Horrors! -- it actually tends to make you pause and think! I'm also being introduced to poets I have never heard of, or writers I never knew were poets -- and that is a very good thing!

With all the distractions, I am moving ahead. I'm 2/3s of the way through, so hopefully I will be ready to post my reflections on this book very soon!