Saved by a Poem: The Transformative Power of Words

Description

In these times of global and personal uncertainty, why turn to poetry? In Saved by a Poem, Kim Rosen reveals how a poem can be a companion through difficulty-acting as a guide when we are lost; a salve when we are wounded; and a conduit to insight, freedom, and joy. Since Kim understands that many avoid poetry because they are intimidated or 'just don't get it,' she offers a new way to experience a poem. She rejects the traditional academic approach and encourages you instead to feel the poem as an affirmation or prayer that brings every level of who you are-your thoughts, feelings, and even your physical energies-into alignment with what matters most. This can help you gain deeper insight into your life and may just inspire a profound transformation. Kim weaves her story with those of people around the world who use poetry to light a path through the darkest moments. She teaches how to select a poem with personal significance, how to find your voice, and how to free your expression from fear and habit. Speaking poetry aloud brings its medicine to all who hear it-dissolving separation, fostering truth, and awakening the heart. Also included is a CD featuring well-known authors and visionaries reading a favorite poem and discussing its impact on their lives.

Kim Rosen, MFA, is a spoken-word artist, a teacher of self-inquiry, and an award-winning poet. She has given poetry concerts, lectures, and workshops in venues from cathedrals to juvenile lockdown facilities. She has been on the faculty of Wisdom University, the Omega Institute, and Kripalu. Website: www.kimrosen.net

"Kim Rosen's work is a unique and important means to help us embody the word in a time when reality is becoming more and more virtual." - Roger Housden, author of Ten Poems to Change Your Life "Kim Rosen's work is infinitely more important than it might appear. I have no doubt that our highly distressed society could be saved by poetry. Kim tells us here how a poem wakens and nourishes the soul and gives us the insight and sensitivity we need to live as creative individuals and as a peaceful society. She tells us how and what to read, not just appreciating some surface pleasantness but taking in the life-changing perspectives of real poetry. You will be educated and healed by this book." - Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul and Writing in the Sand "Intimate and wise, personal and encyclopedic, this book is about the fully embodied life that steps forward when great language is spoken aloud. Kim Rosen opens-and holds open-poetry's first door: the intimate and unobstructed voice. She shows how the practice of saying a poem can be limitless, revealing our fullest capacities of heart and mind, and returning those capacities to us in times when we have forgotten our way. This is a book both profoundly useful and usefully profound. It comes straight from the original fires in which poems are forged." - Jane Hirshfield, author of Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetry "If you love poetry, you will treasure this book. But even if you have never liked poetry much at all, I suspect this book might convert you." - Sharon Salzberg, author of Loving Kindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness "Kim Rosen is bringing poetry back to where it belongs-into our bodies. To know a poem from the inside is to become a tabernacle for the sacred song of human life. We knew this long ago. Kim Rosen is helping us to remember. This art of knowing and holding poems within ourselves is crucial and lifesaving." - Marie Howe, author of What the Living Do and The Kingdom of Ordinary Time "Kim's work is magic. Through the poetry she knows so well, she makes Beauty herself walk and talk and make you glad to be alive." - Geneen Roth, author of When Food is Love and The Craggy Hole in My Heart and the Cat Who Fixed It "Kim Rosen is a master of poetry, the soul's true voice. How do we distill the essence from poems that speak deeply to us, sent like messages from beyond? This elegant and wise book shows the way." - Joan Borysenko, author of Your Soul's Compass and Inner Peace for Busy People "Kim Rosen is a virtuoso of the spoken word, a wise woman of poetry as medicine. This wonderful book reveals the secret power of taking poems inside us and healing through clarity, beauty, and vision. Drink in every word of this book. You will be deeper-and more awake-for it." - Mark Matousek, author of Sex Death Enlightenment and When You're Falling, Dive