Saved by a Poem: The Transformative Power of Words [Paperback]

Kim Rosen (Author), Eve Ensler (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2009

       Can someone really be saved by a poem? In Kim Rosen’s book, the answer is a re­sounding “Yes!” Poetry, the most ancient form of prayer, is a necessary medicine for our times: a companion through difficulty; a guide when we are lost; a salve when we are wounded; and a conduit to an inner source of joy, freedom, and insight.

       Whether you are a lover of poetry or have yet to discover its power, Rosen offers a new way to experience a poem. She encourages you to feel the poem as you might an affirmation or sacred text, which can align every level of your being.

      In an uncertain world, Saved by a Poem is an emphatic call to cultivate the ever-renewable resources of the heart. Through poetry, the unspeakable can be spoken, the unendurable endured, and the miraculous shared. Weaving teaching, story, verse, and memoir, Rosen guides you to find a poem that speaks to you so you can take it into your life and become a voice for its wisdom in the world.

Inspirational CD Included! Featuring the voices of well-known authors reading a favorite poem and discussing its personal significance: Joan Borysenko, Andrew Harvey, Jane Hirshfield, Marie Howe, Grace Yi-Nan Howe, Robert Holden, Stanley Kunitz, Elizabeth Lesser, Thomas Moore, Christiane Northrup, Cheryl Richardson, Kim Rosen, and Geneen Roth.

 

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Saved by a Poem is, quite simply, transformational. A book that I now keep by my bedside. I have never before appreciated the power of poetry having been talked out of it in school. Kim Rosen redeemed poetry for me. And a whole new world has opened up.I love this book (and the CD that goes with it).”

 

— Dr. Christiane Northrup, M.D., author of The Secret Pleasures of Menopause; The Wisdom of Menopause; Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom; and Mother-Daughter Wisdom

“Rarely in one’s life does a book come along that touches a tender place in the heart that knows truth. Saved by a Poem did that for me. It reawakened my love of poetry, filled my soul with the beauty of its words, and fueled my creative spirit with the vital nourishment that only poetry can offer. What a gift. Thank you, Kim Rosen.”

 

— Cheryl Richardson, author of The Art of Extreme Self-Care

“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

“Kim Rosen’s terrific and moving book invites everyone into the inspiring power of poetry to transform not only perceptions of the world but also how we act within it. This is a brave, powerful, passionate book that will bring healing joy to anyone who reads it.”

 

—     Andrew Harvey, author of The Way of Passion: A Celebration of Rumi and The Hope: A Guide to Sacred Activism

“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 life saving.”

 

— Marie Howe, author of What the Living Do and The Kingdom of Ordinary Time

About the Author

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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 254 pages
• Publisher: Hay House; Pap/Com edition (October 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401921469
• ISBN-13: 978-1401921460
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #71,965 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #68 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Inspirational & Religious

More About the Author

Kim Rosen, MFA, is the author of Saved by a Poem: The Transformative Power of Words (Hay House, October, 2009) and has co-created four CD's of spoken poetry and music. Combining her devotion to poetry with her background as a spiritual teacher, she gives keynotes, workshops, trainings, retreats and private sessions and has delivered poetry in venues as varied as the crypt of Chartres Cathedral, Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, and the New Orleans Superdome.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Saved by a Poem, you really should read this book! October 23, 2009

By Marika Vaaranen

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book should be required reading in high schools or colleges before the classics are forced down our throats. It really opens up your mind to understand the power of poetry to heal and transform your mind and your life. Kim writes from a deep place of knowing after having lived and learned the lessons she is imparting in the book. While reading it, I was inspired to start memorizing poems that touched me, and finding more of them. What totally surprised me was how easy it was to memorize them after taking Kim's advice to heart. I had always felt that I was no good at memorizing anything. I even bought a huge book of poems that came with 3 cd's of poets reading their own work; it really is so much easier to get the magic of poetry when you hear it spoken. "Saved by a Poem" has helped to start a new cycle of transformation in my life; it has opened me up to looking at things from new and exciting angles. Thank you Kim!

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Saved by a poem? Yes, it's possible! September 28, 2009

By M. Amani

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Kim Rosen suggests that poems are prayers--of joy, pain, love, wonder, wisdom--and to recite a poem from memory is food for the spirit. I bought the book last week and have begun to take poems to heart by memory and it has been, truly, a transformative experience. Kim suggests that a poem that speaks to you, when taken to heart, will continue to reveal truths over time...and my short experience with this process makes me realize I might have healed more quickly in difficult times if I had opened myself up to poetry in the past. Too often I have felt I couldn't relate to poetry and Kim's reflections make me wonder whether I erred on the side of analytical interpretation rather than acceptance--certainly hearing a poem spoken out loud makes a huge difference. She shares her own personal stories of how poems have shaped her life, provided insight at crucial moments, and turned her from deep depression. A whole chapter on practices on how to take a poem to heart is helpful. The CD is a gift beyond words--poems spoken by poets who then share what the poem means to them, with the lovely music of Jamie Sieber's cello in the background. I recommend this book wholeheartedly with great joy...and hope to gather a circle of friends to share poems with each other--to celebrate, to ponder, to connect closer to each other--we are even considering a conference via Skype from around the world. What a wonderful gift for yourself or a friend.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational February 22, 2010

By KRyder

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Kim Rosen's book was truly transformative. For people who are just beginning to work with poems, either writing them or reading them, this book is a must read. It is not a book on crafting poems, but the reader will learn about as much in that area as in a book that deals with craft. The reader will mostly learn about the critical importance of reading poetry out loud. The "cure" is in reading out loud and Ms. Rosen gives very clear insight into the research behind the findings about reading aloud.

Reading this book has given this reader new motivation into editing and revising her own poetry to go along with some of the suggestions from Ms. Rosen. My poetry may have been saved by this book.

Kudos to Kim Rosen.