Book of the Heart (Studies in Imagination) [Paperback]

Andres Rodriguez (Author)

Book Description

Series: Studies in Imagination | Publication Date: April 1, 1993

Keats stands as a prophetic precursor behind much in today's radical attempts at cultural and self-transformation.

In this book, Rodriguez explores Keats's letters, one of the most moving and inspiring spiritual treasures of the West. We see the poet as a hero of the heart, transforming a passionate life of great joys and sorrows into a self of imagination and power. Book of the Heart grasps the core of Keats's poetical practice of life, uncovering the path of inner development the Letters reveal.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In this work, scholar and poet Rodriguez aims to elevate the letters of Keats to the literary status of his poems. The author contends that the letters contain a poetic overflow that could not be contained in the formal dimensions of the poetic form but are no less valuable an expression of art than the poems. Rodriguez uses Keats's letters as an autobiography, a testament to the presence of a mind "blazing with the light of imagination"; he states that Keats wrote his letters not as conscious works of art, as the poems were, but solely to satisfy his soul. In sum, Rodriguez has written a book to be savored by the mind. Recommended for any collection.
- Jacqueline Garlesky, Univ. of Pittsburgh, Johnstown, Pa.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

This elegantly written book reveals Keats not only as a literary figure, but preeminently as a soul guide. -- Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul

This is a book - for all kinds of readers - about the power of the life of imagination." -- Robert Hass, pet laureate and author of Sun Under Wood

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Lindisfarne Books (April 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0940262576
• ISBN-13: 978-0940262577
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,496,268 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Andrés Rodriguez is a native of Kansas City. He studied English literature at the University of Iowa, Stanford University, and the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is the author of Night Song and Book of the Heart. In 2007 he won Poets & Writers' Maureen Egan Writers Exchange Award for Poetry.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A memorable and illuminating book, April 1, 2003

By 

Charlotte A. Walker "Charlotte Zoe Walker" (Gilbertsville, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Book of the Heart (Studies in Imagination) (Paperback)

This is a memorable and illuminating book, making accessible to the general reader the treasures to be found in Keats's letters as well as his poetry. One of the remarkable things about this book is its emphasis on Keats's understanding of the healing powers of imagination and of poetry. Many, many years ago, my favorite English teacher told me that she hoped to write a book about Keats's letters. I remember wondering how a book about anyone's letters could be interesting, and hoped someday to see her book. She never wrote it, alas-- so it was a wonderful discovery to find in Andres Rodriguez's book some of the depths that my long-ago mentor had hoped to plumb. Don't be fooled by the negative review titled "fooled again"-- this is an unusual and beautiful book.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Exploration of the Real Keates, January 10, 2005

By 

David J. Constable (Kent, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Book of the Heart (Studies in Imagination) (Paperback)

Andres Rodriguez is clearly very passionate about Literature and the influence Keates had upon his own generation and those that would follow. This book reviews and examines not only the poems of Keates but what could be argued to be even more important in the understanding of the man, his letters. The very mention of John Keates conjures up images of everything related to the "Romantics," however, Rodriguez successfully pays tribute to Keates "the author" instead of Keates as a member of the "Romantic Period." This book would be interesting to both avid fans of Keates and those who are taking their first approach in studying the genius.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Forging of Keats's Soul, August 19, 2010

By 

Chora - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Book of the Heart (Studies in Imagination) (Paperback)

The book functions both as a biography of Keats and as a story of a person in the process of "the Great Work"--the forging of a soul/identity. Not only was Keats a great poet, he also had remarkable things to say in his letters about death, love, beauty, and salvation.

I gave it four stars instead of five because I felt that some chapters had less to offer than others, but overall the book gave me a greater appreciation for Keats's life and work, and it also gave me inspiration for my own living life poetically.