Last week I read the humor poem Meditation Idol with its speculative and technological turn. Now, as we follow September into the fall, I’d like to take a deeper look at the intersection of poetry, meditation and prayer.
Guided Meditations
There is no better place to enjoy a poet’s perspective on meditation than the guided meditations created by American University professor, David Keplinger as part of the university’s Mindfulness Initiative. During the school year, Keplinger offers weekly “mindfulness sits” in Zoom. Participants gather online to sit in quiet contemplation with David as he discusses a modern poem in the context of spirituality. He has a Buddhist slant that adds a comforting, spiritual dimension to the work. These Friday “sits” are an excellent way to kickstart the weekend.
The videos of the Zoom sessions can be accessed at David’s YouTube channel, along with his live and Zoom readings. A place of solace in a too chaotic world.
The Book of Singing Eyes
One of the gifts of the pandemic was having the time to engage in reflective introspection. I wrote The Book of Singing Eyes during this troubled time and published it on my personal press, printF Books last spring.
A departure from my usual focus on technology and language, The Book of Singing Eyes attempts to address the challenge of asking what can we legitimately ask of this world without interposing our own ego and self-will. The assumption throughout is that the universe is already divine. It needs nothing from us. The task of these short prayer-poems is to find a way to understand and experience a world that is both secular and divine—that sings before our very eyes. I tried to keep the language as simple as the task at hand.
A book of short prayers is not well served by readings, book launches and the usual tools of promotion. Nor would it be a good candidate for a highly visual, image-filled video reading. So I took the approach of simply reading the book, adding some music and presenting the entire text on a plain paper background. It has been a comfort to me. I hope you will find it helpful as well.
If you would like to listen and download the audio version of the book for quiet meditation, I have made it available here on Substack.
Happy meditating! There are a lot of good things coming up in our poetry community. Have a good weekend.
Coming Up
September 21, 2024, 1 pm, Poetry Open Mic New Deal Cafe 113 Centerway Greenbelt, hosted by Rocky Jones.
September 25, 2024, 6:00 pm, Spy Nights: A Writers Series will feature Sue Ellen Thompson & Beth Dulin. Stoltz Listening Room at the Avalon Theatre, 40 E. Dover Street, Easton, Maryland. Click here for more information.
October 7, 2024 at 7:15 pm, Ed Madden and Kevin McLellan will read their poems at Café Muse Online. Register here.
October 10, 2024 at 7 p.m. Don Berger will be giving a poetry reading and talking about the work with Joey Grantham at Greedy Reads Remington,, 320 West 29th Street, Baltimore, MD 21211.
As always, feel free to email me with questions or comments at henrycrawfordpoetry@gmail.com. Stay creative!
If you’d like me to list an upcoming poetry event in Everyday Poet, please let me know by emailing me at henrycrawfordpoetry@gmail.com. Use the subject: “Coming Up”.