Tuesday 16 June 2009

NATIVE AMERICAN WISDOM

This Review appeared on Amazon UK and Amazon .COM

Subtitled 'A Spiritual Tradition at One with Nature', this is yet another beautiful collection of poems from the anthologist, Alan Jacobs, whose `Poetry for the Spirit' is already a modern-day classic after four editions.This awe inspiring collection of prose and poetry, songs and speeches draws from the words of the great Native American Indians - chiefs, medicine men and members of their Nations. The book is also greatly enhanced by a scholarly introduction from Dr Mick Gidley, Emeritus Professor of American Studies at the University of Leeds.In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in American Indian spirituality: what sets this exquisite volume apart is its return to the ancient traditions of the Americas, a genre that is often overlooked. And yet, many of the poems and prose extracts are surprisingly modern:

SONG OF AN INITIATE

I climbed the blue staircase up to the sky,
I climbed where the roses were opening,
where roses were speaking,
I heard nothing nothing to hear,
I heard silence.

I climbed, the roses were singing,
where the gods were waiting,
a blue staircase up in the sky,
but I heard nothing nothing to hear
I heard silence silence.

[Anon]

This book is highly recommended by the American Libraries Association..

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