Product Description

Ten Poems to Set You Free inspires you to claim the life that is truly yours. In today’s world it is deceptively easy to lose sight of our direction and the things that matter and give us joy. How quickly the days can slip by, the years all gone, and we, at the end of our lives, mourning the life we dreamed of but never lived. These ten poems, and Roger Housden’s reflections on them, urge us to stand once and for all, and now, in the heart of our own life.

This volume brings together the voices of Thomas Merton, David Whyte, the Basque poet Miguel de Unamuno, Anna Swir from Poland, Stanley Kunitz, the Greek poet C. P. Cavafy, and Jane Hirshfield, as well as three of Housden’s favorites, Rumi, Mary Oliver, and Naomi Shihab Nye. His luminous essays on the poems show us how to integrate the poets’ truth into our own lives.

Roger Housden’s love of poetry and life leaps from every page—so much so that his readers feel they have found a guide and mentor through the extraordinary Ten Poems series. He has opened the eyes and hearts of many, not just to the power of poetry, but to the truth and beauty of the life of the soul. What more can one ask?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #220494 in Books
• Published on: 2003-12-30
• Released on: 2003-12-30
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 144 pages

Download Description

Ten Poems to Set You Free inspires you to claim the life that is truly yours. In today's world it is deceptively easy to lose sight of our direction and the things that matter and give us joy. How quickly the days can slip by, the years all gone, and we, at the end of our lives, mourning the life we dreamed of but never lived. These ten poems, and Roger Housden's reflections on them, urge us to stand once and for all, and now, in the heart of our own life.

This volume brings together the voices of Thomas Merton, David Whyte, the Basque poet Miguel de Unamuno, Anna Swir from Poland, Stanley Kunitz, the Greek poet C. P. Cavafy, and Jane Hirshfield, as well as three of Housden's favorites, Rumi, Mary Oliver, and Naomi Shihab Nye. His luminous essays on the poems show us how to integrate the poets' truth into our own lives.

Roger Housden's love of poetry and life leaps from every page—so much so that his readers feel they have found a guide and mentor through the extraordinary Ten Poems series. He has opened the eyes and hearts of many, not just to the power of poetry, but to the truth and beauty of the life of the soul. What more can one ask?

From Booklist
The third of Housden's books based on 10 poems explores the philosophical and spiritual questions involved in living life fully. In his customary style, Housden delves into a wide variety of poets, here including Polish Anna Swir, Greek Constantine P. Cavafy, Spanish Miguel De Unamuno, Turkish Rumi, and the Americans Jane Hirshfield, David Whyte, Mary Oliver, Stanley Kunitz, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Thomas Merton. The little volume's tone and tenor are perhaps best captured when Pulitzer Prize-winner Oliver asks in "Have You Ever Tried to Enter the Long Black Branches?" "Listen, are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?" Housden calls this a "wake up and live" line. The theme is repeated in one way or another in all 10 poems, from Cavafy's "The God Abandons Antony," in which Antony "enjoys" feelings of devastating loss, to Anna Swir's mildly erotic "Thank You, My Fate." And once again, Housden sustains the charm and broadness of appeal of his intimate interpretational essays. Donna Chavez
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Download Description

Ten Poems to Set You Free inspires you to claim the life that is truly yours. In today's world it is deceptively easy to lose sight of our direction and the things that matter and give us joy. How quickly the days can slip by, the years all gone, and we, at the end of our lives, mourning the life we dreamed of but never lived. These ten poems, and Roger Housden's reflections on them, urge us to stand once and for all, and now, in the heart of our own life.

This volume brings together the voices of Thomas Merton, David Whyte, the Basque poet Miguel de Unamuno, Anna Swir from Poland, Stanley Kunitz, the Greek poet C. P. Cavafy, and Jane Hirshfield, as well as three of Housden's favorites, Rumi, Mary Oliver, and Naomi Shihab Nye. His luminous essays on the poems show us how to integrate the poets' truth into our own lives.

Roger Housden's love of poetry and life leaps from every page—so much so that his readers feel they have found a guide and mentor through the extraordinary Ten Poems series. He has opened the eyes and hearts of many, not just to the power of poetry, but to the truth and beauty of the life of the soul. What more can one ask?

Customer Reviews

"While the soul after all, is only a window..."
This intimate volume features a selection of ten poems, a guide to redeeming the spiritual hearts of our own lives. Through the voices of David Whyte, Jane Hirschfield, Miguel de Unamuno, Rumi, Thomas Merton, Jane Oliver and more, Housden offers his own reflections on the interpretation of these poems in chapters immediately following each work. For those who need a guide to navigate the phrases of some of the world's great poets, the author illustrates each example with contemporary application, text and subtext, the poet's words reflecting the meaning for individual lives. Moreover, Housden delves into the other writings of the chosen poets, discussing the themes of their work and why these particular poems are definitive, that we may "integrate the poet's truths into our own lives".

Following David Whyte's "Self-Portrait", Housden's "Look in the Mirror" suggests that Whyte's poem is a personal wake-up call. Like most of his writing, Whyte "champions the truth of the soul over the clamor of the social personality". Miguel de Unamuno's "Throw Yourself Like a Seed" precedes the author's chapter titled "Recover Your Spirit". The poet, who died shortly after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, firmly believed that "at times to be silent is to lie". An enemy of Franco and his fascism, the poet spoke to the great themes of the human spirit, a call to courage and integrity, even against the most disheartening odds. The author lifts Unamuno's words, his incredible bravery at a time of great turmoil, and brings them to the fertile ground of our more modern concerns, the small decisions that move us away from our finest selves and the need for personal commitment.

Many of these works are familiar, certainly Rumi, Merton and Mary Oliver, but each has a powerful message on the evolution of the spirit. Combining the fluidity of chosen poems and his own considered comments, the author calls us to attend to personal potential, the daily opportunities for growth and the evolution of the soul that is a by-product of self-reflection. Not everyone wants, or needs, a guide through these works, but for those who are overwhelmed and cannot apply them in an individual context, Housden's Ten Poems to Set You Free is a first step into a rewarding future, where personality, sense of purpose and soul are fully integrated: "We are able to be the one we do not know. This is the greatest freedom available to us as human beings." Luan Gaines/ 2005.

Ten Poems to Set You Free
This compilation of poems with commentary by the author is stirring. I take this volume to work to remind me to hold onto my soul; it serves as a defense against the pummeling of the world. This book needs to be read slowly and thoughtfully, allowing time to digest the deep meanings. David Whyte's poem in particular captures the essence of what it means to be an individual with a soul. Outstanding!

A MAGNIFICANT BOOK
If you allow it, the sheer beauty of these ten poems will inspire you toward your own unique life and free you from the clutter of the everyday mind. The author's commentaries are as profound as the selected poems themselves.Get this book,read it-no,live it , and allow its poetry to enrich your soul!