Books by Category - Poetry

Browse by Category - Poetry

Almost Paradise

Sam Hamill is that rare figure whose life is continually in dialogue with the rich and diverse tradition of poetry, whether that dialogue takes the form of translating the work of a poet long dead, writing a poem in celebration of the work of a contemporary poet, or musing on what it means to be a poet himself. A true poet's poet-and also the founding editor of Copper Canyon Press, one of the most influential publishers of poetry today-Hamill has been part of America's poetry scene for decades and has won numerous prizes and awards for his work. This collection presents the best of Hamill's work from his thirteen books of original poetry and from his numerous critically acclaimed works of translation, as well as a number of new, previously unpublished poems.

Almost Paradise

The Complete Poems of Sappho

Sappho’s thrilling lyric verse has been unremittingly popular for more than 2,600 years-certainly a record for poetry of any kind-and love for her art only increases as time goes on. Though her extant work consists only of a collection of fragments and a handful of complete poems, her mystique endures to be discovered anew by each generation, and to inspire new efforts at bringing the spirit of her Greek words faithfully into English.

In the past, translators have taken two basic approaches to Sappho: either very literally translating only the words in the fragments, or taking the liberty of reconstructing the missing parts. Willis Barnstone has taken a middle course, in which he remains faithful to the words of the fragments, only very judiciously filling in a word or phrase in cases where the meaning is obvious. This edition includes extensive notes and a special section of “Testimonia”: appreciations of Sappho in the words of ancient writers from Plato to Plutarch. Also included are a glossary of all the figures mentioned in the poems, and suggestions for further reading. 

The Complete Poems of Sappho

The Erotic Spirit

This extraordinary collection of poems from around the world-covering more than thirty centuries-celebrates the erotic spirit in all its forms, from the passion of sexual desire to the intense longing for spiritual union. Beginning with anonymous Egyptian love songs from the fifteenth century BCE and continuing up to works by some of today's finest poets, the book comprises poems from a broad range of cultural and spiritual traditions, including Greek and Roman erotica, ecstatic Sufi songs, Chinese elegies for lost lovers, and bawdy English satires. Included are erotic works by Sappho, Rumi, Petrarch, Shakespeare, and Whitman, as well as by contemporary poets such as Robert Creeley and Denise Levertov. Many of the poems are presented here in new translations by the editor. 

The Erotic Spirit

Haiku Mind

Haiku, the Japanese form of poetry written in three short lines, is celebrated for its ability to express a simple moment in a profound way. The “haiku moment,” as it is called, refers to a heightened awareness of the world around us and how, in that small, transient period, the greater essence of our lives is reflected.

As our culture speeds up and our personal lives feel overbooked and busy, haiku can offer an easy way to slow down, appreciate the simple things around us, and give us a moment to reflect on our lives. In Haiku Mind, Patricia Donegan presents 108 haiku that offer a larger lesson on how we can approach our lives. With themes such as honesty, transience, and compassion, Donegan offers haiku and commentary as a form of meditation-a moment where we can slowly and naturally discover what is simply here.

Haiku Mind

In Love with the Way

The poetry selected for this volume comes from the Tang Dynasty (618-907), an era when the influence of Buddhism was at its strongest in China. The best loved and most influential of all Chinese poems come from this period.

Like all books in the Shambhala Calligraphy series, In Love with the Way takes a classic spiritual text that has been a subject for calligraphers for many years-and uses it to showcase a uniquely modern example of the calligrapher's art, bringing the text to life in a striking new way.

In Love with the Way is accompanied by François Cheng's introductory essay on poetry of the Tang period, and by a closing essay on the work of the calligrapher, Fabienne Verdier.

In Love with the Way

Rumi's World

This book (previously published as I Am Wind, You Are Fire) celebrates the extraordinary career of Persia's great mystical poet, Rumi (1207-1273), through the story of his life, along with an enlightening examination of his ecstatic verse. Rumi lived the quiet life of a religious teacher in Anatolia until the age of thirty-seven, when he came under the influence of a whirling dervish, Shams Tabriz, and was moved to a state of mystical ecstasy. One of the results of this ecstasy was a prodigious output of poems about the search for the lost Divine Beloved, whom Rumi identified with Shams. To symbolize this search, Rumi also invented the famous whirling dance of the Melevi dervishes, which are performed accompanied by the chanting of Rumi's poems. Professor Schimmel illuminates the symbolism and significance of Rumi's vast output and offers her own translations of some of his most famous poems. 

Rumi's World

Tao Te Ching

In what may be the most faithful translation of the Tao Te Ching, the translators have captured the terse, enigmatic beauty of the original masterpiece without embellishing it with personal interpretation or bogging it down with explanatory notes. By stepping out of the way and letting the original text speak for itself, they deliver a powerfully direct experience of the Tao Te Ching that is a joy to come back to again and again.

And for the first time in any translation of the Tao Te Ching, now you can interact with the text to experience for yourself the nuanced art of translating. In each of the eighty-one chapters, one significant line has been highlighted and alongside it are the original Chinese characters with their transliteration. You can then turn to the glossary and translate this line on your own, thereby deepening your understanding of the original text and of the myriad ways it can be translated into English.

Tao Te Ching

Return to Category List