Poetry Books

Through his discerning eyes Roger's penetrating photographs reveal the richness of nature along the Carmel, Big Sur and Monterey Coasts and opens our eyes to our own backyards. A photographer who shows the soul of rocks, trees, leaves, caves, ocean, sand and sky. Bill's words call the soul of the world, drawing us into a fullness of life's emotions, triggering our own losses and hope and wonder...then reminds us of the gift of each moment through sound, sight and feelings. A poet with the courage to bare his soul and in so doing awakens our. These photographs and poetry bring the universe to our doorsteps. A treasure book.

Recently, I was given a copy of this book as a gift, and was immediately struck by the beauty and thoughtful compositions of both the images and the poetry.

The photographs are of the California coast, but they are certainly not the typical "postcard" shots. In black and white, and rich in tonality, these are complicated images, some of whose beausty strikes you immediately, and some of whose beauty sneaks up on you. Seemingly simple scenes resonate with hidden complexity brought to light by the masterful eye of the photographer. Like zen style ink paintings, many of the images and poems are deceptively simple at first glance, but gain depth and meaning with careful appreciation. Honest and thoughtful, almost meditative, as the title suggests, this book works on a level that is fundamental. Highly recommended...

Moor's Photographs are fresh and modern. I highly enjoyed it and recomend it to everyone.

Art should provoke response, should inspire action in kind. This book delivers a moving example of just that: photographer inspiring poet, poet guiding the artist's eye. Moore's captivating images are, on one level, a beautiful rendering of Monterey's allure. But like Sechrest, I see something else, something profoundly emotional, which Moore achieves straightforwardly, without artifice or manipulation. Be sure to share this book with your most insightful friends and enjoy their responses.

TIP: as the book's designer, I happen to know Moore will be publishing another remarkable book of southern Russian images in the near feature. Keep a lookout - Moore is definitely on a roll.

Moore's photographs of Carmel, the Texas Panhandle, New York and all of his photography is breathtaking. These images come in to your mind, your heart and you can feel as one with them. Perhaps places you have never been and yet feel as if you have due to Moore's balance of nature's beauty and his extreme talent.

Calling Kahlil Gibran a poet is an understatement and this short story proves it. It is a simple story but one that will break your heart. Still, you will be glad you read it...(experienced it rather)! It will take you to another world, another era, stimulate your mind and touch your heart.

This is the third book I read by Gibran. I started with "The Prophet" and "Voice of the Master". "Broken Wings" is the first novel I read by this author. It is a love story between two young people at the tender age of 18 that meet and establish spiritual connection between each other immediately. The girl, Selma is raised by her wealthy widower father, who in spite of his wealth seems to be ignorant of the way the world works. The young man, our narrator, is somewhat of a dreamer and idealist who believes that patience and perseverance will grant him the hand of the woman he loves (Selma). But world, being the cruel place that it is has different plans. Everyone pure and true ends up being hurt in the process, only the cruel and greedy get to go on with their lives as if nothing happened. Beautiful story beautifully told and wise as only Gibran can make it so.

"Every beauty and greatness in this world is created by a single thought or emotion inside a man. Every thing we see today, made by past generation, was, before its appearance, a thought in the mind of a man or an impulse in the heart of a woman. The revolutions that shed so much blood and turned men's minds toward liberty were the idea of one man who lived in the midst of thousands of men. The devastating wars which destroyed empires were a thought that existed in the mind of an individual. The supreme teachings that changed the course of humanity were the ideas of a man whose genius separated him from his environment. A single thought build the Pyramids, founded the glory of Islam, and caused the burning of the library at Alexandria.

One thought will come to you at night which will elevate you to glory or lead you to asylum. One look from a woman's eye makes you the happiest man in the world. One word from a man's lips will make you rich or poor."

--Khalil Gibran, Broken Wings

We have all the tools to keep us connected that our forefathers never could have dreamed of. Cars and airplanes allow regular visitations between friends thousands of miles apart. The telephone and the internet allow direct connection with those not in our presence, the cell phone extends this connection to all times and virtually all places. Yet, do we take the time see what we do to those who really are around us, when we leave the guest in our living room to check and see who is signed on to our buddy list on our computer? Do we see our friends' hopes and dreams, joys and sorrows, when we ignore them across the booth in the restaurant to answer our cell phones?

Every action I perform has an effect on someone else. Many people that we meet, we only see that one time. I wonder what their impression of me is. I wonder if I have uplifted them, or hurt them, or barely made an imprint at all. I wonder if they ever look beyond how I have changed them to see me, to see beyond the generally relaxed, goofy, at ease outlook I put on the situation to see how I really am feeling at the time.

Our feelings, our outlook on life, our hopes and expectations can change in an instant. When that person you are thinking about calls or emails, elation ensues. When you don't hear back for awhile, doubt and yearning go through you mind. Yet, it could just be random, the person deciding to send a message just to say hi, like I often do to my friends.

Okay, I am rambling again. That passage above by Khalil Gibran comes from his short book Broken Wings, written from a first person perspective about a man's first love, Selma, who was betrothed to another. This passage was from one of the middle chapters. It caught my eye, and I am still trying to make sense of it, what it is really saying. Any thoughts? Feel free to share. You can post comments on my blog anonymously.

Kahlil Gibran once again tells a beautiful love story. I fell in love with this novel, and would recommend it to anyone who loves to read a beautiful, and realistic love story. It made me cry!

Khalil Gibran's fiery book on first love and its undying potency. A must have read for fans of the Prophet. A fictional tale that captures the essence of love awakening energy in the context of culture, social rules, and family ambition. A juxtaposition on the distinction between a love marriage and a marriage as a merger and acquisiton.

The collected works of one of the greatest poets of T'ang dynasty China. Essential reading for students and admirer's of Zen, Buddhism, and Taoism.

Red Pine's excellent translations of the poems of Han Shan, a great sage of China usually referred to as Cold Mountain, meets, and even exceeds the high standards we all have come to expect from this great translator.

Written twelve centuries ago in the mountains and forest of China, Han Shan's poetry set the standard for all later Zen, Taoist poets. The poems of Cold Mountain reveal the heart and mind of enlightenment with images ranging from the isolated peaks of snow-capped mountains to the drunnken revelry Chinese cowboys. It is no wonder that his work has been one of the staple sources throughout the history of Asian and Zen literature.

This work has been significantly revised and expanded since its initial publication in 1983. Red Pine has created a masterpiece with this new bilingual (English and Chinese) edition presenting all of Han Shan's known work (and even some of the great poems by his two friends, Shih-te, (aka Pickup) and Feng-kan (aka, Big Stick).

The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain is an awesome source of classic Chinese wisdom poems!

This revised edition includes a new and comprehensive introduction, excellent notes, and even photographs of the area (and caves) where Han Shan lived and wrote.

An outstanding achievement!

This translation is very readable. The notes are always very interesting and help the text come alive. Red Pine has really provided a lot of value through them - without them, some of the poems could be very obscure. It is rare to find a translation of the complete works of a Chinese poet: most books only present a selection. If one takes the time to read the complete oevre, however, the author comes alive in a different way - you begin to recognize certain recurring moods and themes; in the end, you feel you have learnt something about the things that concerned him, and come closer as a result.
The only criticism is that Red Pine uses a personal transliteration that is neither pinyin nor Wade-Giles; as a result, it is often hard to be sure of the identity of people and places he mentions.

As other reviewers have already stated, this is a very nice volume of poetry, very nicely put together with the original chinese on one page and the translation on the opposite page. This is the third volume of Han Shan that I have, and it is by far the best in terms of completeness and the essence of the translations. Get a copy or three before the print run is over!

This beautiful edition of the legendary poetry by the "Zen" poet Han Shan is a priceless contribution to know and experience his fascinating and miraculous, almost stoic and sometimes mystical utterances. Carefully edited, wonderful translations. I am happy to have purchased this book as a gift for a good friend

Cold Moutain chuckles still
as he reads through my eyes
those poems that he carved in stone.

Appropriate now
as they were back then,
his laughter knows no bounds.

No center, no boundaries,
all opposites dissolve.
Suchness beyond "as one".

Moon over sea,
Wave against rock.
All returns instantly!

I first received this book as a gift from my daughters daycare teacher. We read it every night for years. When I came across it again on Amazon, I had to purchase it. Great story and morals - but we love it for the bright colors, catchy phrasing, and of course the memories behind the book. Great price and love the hardback book (as our original was paperback).

This is a great book that my daughter's preschool actually turned into a short play done by the parents. It was too cute. We still read it regularly 2 years later.

A very simple book that demonstrates how we must all get along and accept each other because together we make a better world.

This is a well written book about a very cute idea. My daughter (2 1/2) loves it.

I recieved my book in great condition and within a weeks time. Was great, I have continued to order from Amazon.

I bought this as a gift for my mom, and she loved it. It is a great book that keeps you interested, you won't want to put it down.

No te arrepentiràs, me encantan todos los cuentos de este libro, so tan originales y tan fuera de lo común, que te transportan a otro mundo en tu imaginación!!

Cuentos de Eva Luna arrived rapidly. I am reading it for pleasure and I'm not being disappointed. The book is well bound for a paperback, comfortable to hold, easy to read for a student of a second language.

A friend introduced me to this collection this summer. It's a relatively easy read for anyone with a college education in Spanish. Allende uses modern stylistic devices and vocabulary.

The frame is a Scheherazade set up... a series of stories about love relationships.

Some stories are a bit schematic and unsatisfying but when she hits paydirt, it's killer. I especially liked the stories 'Si me tocaras el corazon' and 'Walimai.' These felt almost like deep folk/ fairytales.

If you enjoyed A.S. Byatt's "The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye," you'll like this one too.

What a collection of characters! An illiterate woman who sells words. A man obsessed with a little girl. A woman whose marriage was based on letters written by the wrong man. A woman who spends her life waiting for revenge. A rich man who keeps a girl prisoner. Rascals trying to break into society. A lonely dictator. Invisible Indians. Every character is flawed in some terrible way, and yet, somehow appealing. Somehow you become attached to each of the characters and you want to hear their stories. There is something absolutely magical about these stories by Isabel Allende, stories you can't put down.

What is her secret? I don't know. I think she writes with magic ink. But, there is something else, too. Her characters never give up. No matter how bad, how flawed, how actually depraved they may be, they keep struggling toward the light. And so, each of us, with our own struggle to escape from darkness, can relate to these people and their stories.

These are some of the finest stories I have ever read. I recommend the collection most highly. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

a beautiful book. my 3- yo daughter is very interested in fairies and we love looking at the inventive things the fairy has in her house. it is also a beautiful message about taking care of animals and letting the wild ones be wild.

A wonderful bedtime story for young children. My little one loves the relaxing poem with the beautiful pictures. The story tells a valuable lesson of caring for those around you. She calms down and goes to sleep very quickly after reading this story. My 2 year old demands to be read "Fairy Market" before any nap or bedtime. She loves it.

This is a wonderful book, beautifully illustrated. The story is one of gracious appreciation of others. Highly recommended.

This has been a favorite in our house for 20+ years. With our first child and now with our youngest. The pictures are wonderful, your child will love finding new things every time they read the book. And the messege that is taught, each time the fairy purchases a new animal and then sets it free after she admires it or when she shares her coat with the frog so he can stay warm. The message of caring for others is expressed in an easy to understand way. Great book for children and adults to share.

This gentle rhyming story is paired with beautiful illustrations. Story of the seasons and about being a compassionate person. A must-have in your library- especially if you love fairies!

I love this book. It was "the book" when I was growing up. My grandmother read from it to us all of the time . Great memories!~ Highly recommended.

This large collection of poems is absolutely great! I love poems I don't have to work at to understand - just enjoyable, fun, nostalgic reading. I wanted to surprise a friend that remembered having a book of poetry as a child that included both Custard the Dragon and Little Orphan Annie. This is the only book I could find with both. And now I treasure it as well. I hope to have to buy more copies for my grandkids someday!!

I have had this book for years, ever since my family was very young. I purchased it myself. We spent many an evening sitting on the front porch with neighborhood children reading the poetry. The funniest time was when we had a neighbor from Japan read Jabberwocky. I remember that to this day. I think she laughed the hardest. There is a poem there for everyone. Now I bought the book for my grandchildren. One in particular loves and writes poetry, and I feel this will give her a chance to read all kinds of poetry. That is who I bought this last book for. It is a family book.

Great collection of poems for read aloud to younger children and for older children, copy and memeory work.

As a homeschooling mother, I have searched for several years to find just the right poetry book. I have children ranging in age from 6-19, and wanted a wealth of poems that would span the broad age range. This book contains over seven hundred poems - so every time we open the book, we discover new treasures. We especially like the rhythm and rhyme that so many of the poems have. Although the book is organized by themes, it is indexed by title, author, and even first lines, so we can easily find our favorites the next time. If you only have space or money to buy one poetry book, this is the one!

The title says it all: "Trombones" represents the preservation of the history of the community backbone of prayer, persistence, and strength. The poetry gives some insight to the suffering of the elders, and speaks to the continuing fight for the full parity of the AfricanAmerican community in a country that was literally built upon the bleeding, sweaty backs of my ancestors.

Amazon is to be commended for participating in this historical preservation of a works that I would recommend as mandatory reading for generations to come - regardless of religion, gender, or color.

My soul is galvanized everytime I hear or read James Weldon Johnson's God's Trombones. I have directed student perfomances of this deeply moving African American text. "The Crucifixion," for example, tells the story of how Jesus Christ, my Lord, my Savior,my Friend, suffered death on an old cross so that I might have an opportunity to be more sensitive to the hurting. The "Prodigal Son" urges me to experience and, thus understand, that I must live with a redemptive consiousness. And, of course, I am compelled to understand, through the poem "Go Down Death" this reality: God does call His children home. Those who have suffered "long in the vineyard" are deserving of rest. For sure, God's Trombones is a poetic tribute to an experience that is Christian and African American. I thank James Welson Johnson for creating this poetic masterpiece. Let's continue to read it; let's perform it. Let's live within the context of the spirituality of the voice. Amen!

God's Trombones is a beautiful expression of the themes of the Southern black experience and God's constant, personal presence in their lives. The themes he chose were expressed in sermons and in Gospel music. For the black person, God was aware of their struggles, would bring them out of "Egypt" (slavery) and would eventually take them to their home "over Jordan". Death would be a gentle freedom for those who were weary (as in "Go down Death").

Johnson's introduction explains that he was trying to express the fervant Southern black preacher with his pauses and emphases. He has done both well.

This is a book to be read for its beauty and inspiration, but more important, it shows (theological inaccuracies aside) how an oppressed people trusted in God's gentle hand, and God's constant love for even the "least" of his Creation.

I recommend this for historians, teachers, lovers of poetry, and for its spiritual content, anyone seeking inspiration.

My dad teaches Sunday School and was looking for this book to incorporate into his lesson plans. I found it here at Amazon and fell in love with this book. Absolutely wonderful to read and very profound. Exceptional!

While James Weldon Johnson's theology is not always orthodox ("God thought and thought" - who could put a new thought in God's mind? unless it was God and, then, God would not be God - this insight compliments of E.V. Hill in his sermon "When Was God At His Best?"), JWJ's poetry and, especially, his Preface displays the harmonious beauty of a long tradition of African American preaching not generally known or appreciated outside of African American circles. If one really wants to become familiar with and, indeed, edified by the godly reaching of E.V. Hill (now deceased), Fred Luter, Tony Evans, Robert Smith and a host of unknowns who preach with substance and, sometimes, in the "whoop"ing style, then, Weldon's book is a must read. May Christianity never lose what God has brought forth in a substantial style which stirs heart, mind and soul.

The Kalevala is the result of Elias Lönnrot collecting and commiting to paper the oral traditions of the Finnish people to produce an epic tale.
This translation has captured the poetic delivery of the original Finnish as perfectly as these two opposing languages could.
The poetry weaves the tales of Väinämöinen, an old seer and the younger Joukahainen who wishes to challenge him. This angers Väinämöinen who chants him deep into a swamp, a meadow and a heath!! To get himself out of trouble Joukahainen offers the old seer his sister Aino as a bride. Väinämöinen thinking he has been offered a house keeper accepts. Aino is quite taken with being his bride but Väinämöinen has other ideas and heads North to woo the maiden of the North. He can marry her if he forges a Sampo, which is a magical machine that churns out salt, flour and money! He can't do that but he knows a man who can, his good friend Ilmarinen the blacksmith. He has to trick Ilmarinen into going North but he makes the Sampo. Then the marriage requires another task and so the maiden remains unmarried.

Meanwhile, another character Lemminkäinen decides to go North and try his luck winning the maiden. He is given tasks in order to win her hand, capturing the elk of Hiisi and the swan from the river of Tuonela. The latter task nearly kills him and he gives up.

Väinämöinen is now making himself a boat to head back up North but he runs out of spells so he has to go and find Vipunen, a giant who knows all the spells. He gets his spells, finishes his boat and heads North but he is seen by the sister of the blacksmith and the blacksmith rides like the wind on his horse and catches up with him. The two men make a pact that they will let the maiden choose between them. The maiden choose Ilmarinen because he forged the Sampo but her mother still wants more tasks done and she orders Ilmarinen to plough the field of vipers. Ilmarinen finds this easy with his armoured boots and cape and so the crone of the North sets him the task of capturing the giant pike of the chill north sea without line or net!!Ilmarinen forges himself a giant eagle and captures the pike. Now the old crone is satisfied and the wedding takes place. Väinämöinen makes a kantele from the jaw of the pike which produces sweet voiced music such that tames the beasts and even causes the sea king Ahti to rise from the depths. He and Ilmarinen use the sweet music to soothe the beasts of the North whilst they take the Sampo for themselves and set sail for home. Louhi, mistress of the North casts a fog spell to stop them, which Väinämöinen conjures away so Louhi unleashes a terrible storm which sweeps the kantele from the boat whereupon Ahti the sea king thinks it is a present to him and he calms the sea. The crone turns herself into an eagle and attacks Väinämöinen's boat and in the struggle the Sampo is broken into pieces. Some of the pieces are washed up on the shore and from the fragments Ilmarinen makes amulets and rings thinking that perhaps there is still some magic left in the pieces. Each resident of Kalevala wears a magic piece on special occasions, wishing for a peaceful life.

Now I've just condensed an epic piece into a few short paragraphs...for which I apologise but it's a great tale and maybe this will encourage folk to read it themselves.

The Kalevala has a flow to it that makes the plot/ idea easy to follow. If English is your second language you will struggle with some of its vocabulary. The stories and the essence of this epic poem are captivating. I didn't want to put the book down at night. This is a good way to get to know Finnish culture.

This review is in two parts:

THE TRANSLATION: When it comes to reading ancient literature there are often numerous versions and translations. Unless a story is REALLY good, I only want to read it once. So it only makes sense that one should want to read the best version/translation available.
Thankfully, the Keith Bosley translation of The Kalevala is the most reader-friendly, very much like Seamus Heaney's translation of "Beowulf".
The Kalevala does not rhyme, although there are a few instances of alliteration scattered throughout. Each line is usually a handful of words comprising an even larger sentence, but it's done in a tasteful way so that you won't feel like you're reading a James Joyce run-on sentence like in "Ulysses".

THE EPIC:
The Kalevala bounces around telling tales of several major characters, which is fortunate, considering the length of the work. Without giving anything away, the characters do things like get married, steal precious relics, sing magical songs, go to war and build many more precious relics.

There are lots of good "Chapters" in The Kalevala and I was surprised that a few of my favorites had little or no action in them (according to a guy's definition of action, at least). One of which was the marriage sequence of Chapters 21-24. If you've ever heard the advice, "Don't get married", this is probably one of the sources where such advice comes from.

It is also noteworthy how much influence The Kalevala has had on Fantasy and Metal. If I remember correctly, Tolkien's "Silmarillion" starts off with beings singing things into existence, much like the characters in The Kalevala do.
The Finnish metal band "Ensiferum" has songs that are inspired straight from The Kalevala, such as "Old Man" which refers to Vainamoinen.
There are many other bands in the folk metal genre, that, although they don't specifically cite The Kalevala as an inspiration they clearly have songs that are similar to The Kalevala's oral tradition. Some examples (in my opinion) would be Korpiklaani (Finnish), Metsatoell and Raud Ants (Estonian).

Overall, I liked The Kalevala much more than I thought I would, given its length and I have to admit: I found it more interesting than Beowulf.

There is an elegant, powerful simplicity to this epic tale, no matter what language you read it in. The symbols transcend both language and time. There is nothing contrived here. Such a tale could not be counterfeited by a modern mind.At the center of the entire epic is Vainamoinen, the singer at the world's dawn. Here is the archetype for the wizard- the first and greatest among shamans. Before Merlin, before Taliesin, before Math, before Manannan, there was Vainamoinen, Eternal Seer.Something real and vital carries over even in translation. Reading this book on a cold winter's night you can taste the sea and smell the forest. You can identify with the characters even though they have godlike powers, because they also have trades that they live by (Vainamoinen is a boatbuilder, Ilmarinen a smith, Joukahainen builds his own crossbows, etc.) These Godlike beings lived simple lives close to the earth. And simple wisdom is powerful wisdom. Yet, there is also so much more of the old, deep legends and symbols buried in these lines. You can tell that they were preserved long after the long lines of singers had ceased to know their original meanings.The ancient Finns believed in the power of words, and the greater power of songs. There is still power here. Or as the epic says:

Words shall not be hid

nor spells be buried;

might shall not sink underground

though the mighty go.

I enjoyed this epic story of Finnish mythology. It was a musical, delightful collection of heroic stories that didn't overwhelm me. I could keep track of the characters and what they respresented quite easily.

I was delighted by this book! I hope all Finnish children are exposed to the exciting yet fun depiction of their mythological heritage.

I know that scholars want to read everything and disect the stories for deeper meanings -- which is just fine -- but I can really see this as a set of stories being told to small children while the whole family sat around the fireplace.

I love the selections from Ovid in this book! I like the slow start, using words very similar to their English equivalents, and the series of exercises that follow the selection. I even enjoy the discussion of etymology at the ends of the chapters.
My only complaint is the lack of answers at the back for the exercises. I'm trying to learn Latin on my own, and having the help of seeing answers would make my task somewhat less daunting. Still, taking enough care, and looking back at the examples and reading excerpt, I think I'll learn Latin well enough to read it on my own. Eventually.

I learned Latin using Wheelock's textbook, studying with an engaging instructor. That is an excellent text but, as many have noted, it is very dry. This book is more entertaining: less philosophy and more blood, sex, and other agreeable topics. Can't recommend it highly enough.

This is a great book to learn latin at your own pace. I have been studying it for almost a month now. The explanations are clear, and the examples meaningful. I highly recommended it for anyone who wants to learn some latin.

I found this book very useful and, if I were learning Latin from scratch as a youngster I expect it would have proved more interesting than the volumes I did work with. Of course, being American, the declensions are in the "wrong order" but this is a minor nuisance. Interesting exercises and additional information on Roman life and mores, mythology and magic.

Goldman's text is wonderful for someone desiring to learn Latin on their own. From the second chapter onwards, all the readings consist of revised excerpts from Ovid's Metamorphoses. As you are taught more grammar and vocabulary, she gradually introduces more and more of the original into the readings until you are reading what Ovid actually wrote. And although there is no answer key, the excercises (of which there are plenty) are usually of just the right difficulty: just hard enough to help you in learning Latin, but not so hard that you can't figure them out on your own.
I would also recommend the accompanying workbook, which is a little more difficult, but does include an answer key.