Customer Reviews

Ten Poems to Change Your Life

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I need no convincing to read poetry. It is second nature to me... if not first in line. There is this quick, pointed injection of life that poetry offers that lengthier prose cannot. An image. A snap of sound. A gut punch. A sudden miracle. A flash of light. A surprise. Housden has recognized this and, with this book, presents his own miracle of found poetry to the general reader. He has chosen ten poems by ten very different authors out of ten different planes of existence (time, space, culture) and presented them here to - more than not, I think - the mostly uninitiated. Certainly these are not complex poems. No argument on their quality. They are definitely not the ten that I would choose (although one or two of them might indeed make it onto my list also)... but they don't have to be! Poetry is, after all, as personal and intimate as making love. Indeed, it is making love... the mind in the most intimate relationship with life in all its juices and flavors.

Housden's choices range from Whitman's enthused "Song of Myself" (this one would make it onto my list also)... to the simple pleasures of "Ode to My Socks" by Pablo Neruda... to the inspirational "The Journey" by Mary Oliver... to the old age reborn to new age "Zero Circle" by Rumi... to the deliciously sensual "Last Gods" by Galway Kinnell... to the always impressive "For the Anniversary of My Death" by W.S. Merwin... and more. Each poem is followed by Housden's essay elaborating his choice, the poem's effect on him, it's life-changing (at least for him) message. He kindles the poetry flame, and that is a wonderful thing.

For those who are reasonably well acquainted with poetry, there is little new here. The authors should all be familiar ones, several by now considered classics. There are Pulitzer Prize winners along with those appearing in smaller literary presses. None of that, I suspect, was part of Housden's criteria in his choices. He appears to have chosen poems for their ability to stop time, for just a moment, and cause some kind of metamorphosis, an epiphany, a momentary trembling of the earth beneath his reading feet. While a few of these choices left me unmoved, as a whole, I enjoyed the book and sharing in his perspective while keeping my own. Revisiting Whitman was a nostalgia of youthful enthusiasm, for instance. Whitman showed us that poetry need not be stodgy or stiff with rhyme and iambic pentameter. While both Neruda and Rumi left me cool, and Machado had only a mild effect... the encounter of "Last Gods" by Galway Kinnell... mm, left me purring. Never underestimate the power of the written word, indeed. Not only is it more powerful than the sword, but nothing can compete... no trash magazine, no cheap celluloid... with the eroticism of such well chosen words. Kinnell's poem evokes ripples of sensation, sweet sweet, savory, leaving all the senses tingling... but also stimulates the most erogenous zone of all: the mind. It is not shy. It is not embarrassed to be precise in its description. Yet here is a most wonderful example of the difference between erotic art... and pornography. One being of beauty, uplifting, lasting... while the other is ugly and base. One enriches while the other degrades. In his essay following the poem, Housden writes:

"...pornography divorces body from soul and turns body into a thing, which can be used like any other thing for profit in the marketplace. Pornography is a caricature of the erotic; it can only exist by demanding anonymity, and substituting fantasy for relationship. Without relationship, there is no soul. There is only sensation, for its own sake; and sensation is no more than skin deep. Sensation on its own - however orgasmic - fails to deliver the goods. To skim the surface of life ultimately leaves us on our own, and predictably, lonely. One reason we seem to be such a pleasure-hungry society is that we are habitually looking for it in all the wrong places."

As Housden says of Kinnell (and oh yes, I am looking up this poet on my next trip to the library), this slim volume of applause to poetry, its word-play and its word-ecstasy and its word-power, is one of immersion into the experience. "Great poetry," Housden says, "can alter the way we see ourselves. It can change the way we see the world... suddenly you see your own original face there; suddenly find yourself blown into a world full of awe, dread, wonder, marvel, deep sorrow, and joy.... poetry bids us... to break free from the safe strategies of the cautious mind; it calls to us, like the wild geese, from an open sky."

Whether these ten poems call to us, some of these ten, or another ten of our own choosing... poetry is an experience worthy of immersion. Housden's enthusiasm for the literary form is contagious. That enthusiasm, taken to be one's own, that understanding of the power of the word, is what can change lives.

Roger Housden's "ten poems to change your life" is guaranteed to inspire, illuminate and educate. Having discovered Mr. Housden's analysis of Mary Oliver's "The Journey" in the July issue of O Magazine, I was moved to purchase this gem of a book. The author has a remarkable relationship with language. Each poem is an opportunity to discover the music of Housden's ability with words. "This is the self who slips through the cracks of the ordinary mind when the sentry is looking the other way. If there is one word that can describe its voice, it is the word authentic." His fluid and incredible visual style had this reader weeping. Without question, each poem is in, and of itself, special, but it is the author's lyrical interpretation that gives this book it's powerful voice. For anyone who is on the path of self-discovery, Roger Housden's work is a journey well worth the taking.

In her book BLUE PASTURES, poet Mary Oliver states: "The three ingredients of poetry: the mystery of the universe, spiritual curiosity, the energy of language." Roger Housden does a superb job of incorporating these three key ingredients in his marvelous book, TEN POEMS TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE. I am on my second reading and just realized what a wonderful gift TEN POEMS would be for people who say they don't like or "get" poetry. Mr. Housden interprets poetry in his own poetic and deeply-felt style, illuminating the reader's own innate knowing of universal truths, longings and passions. I am reminded of a recent ad for Mercedes-Benz: "Live. A lot. Unleash yourself upon the world and go!" Mr. Housden can show you how to do just that by connecting with great poetry. What a pleasure this book is.

This book is a lovely and thoughtful meditation on 10 poems with spiritual or metaphysical themes. The selection of poems is interesting and eclectic, but it's the commentary that really shines. Mr. Housden discusses the poetic themes with stunning insight is to their relevance to modern life...trust me, the first chapter alone is worth the price of admission. A book to be read, re-read and savored on the road of life. A big "thank you" to Mr. Housden for this wonderful book!

Roger Housden's collection delivers what its title promises, ten poems with the potential to change your life. Let the reader beware: reading poetry like this can be dangerous; dangerous, we're told, "because you may never be the same again" (p. 1). "Great poetry can alter the way we see ourselves," Housden explains in the Introduction to this ten-poem collection. "It can change the way we see the world . . . Poetry at its best calls forth our deep Being, bids us live by its promptings; it dares us to break free from the safe strategies of the cautious mind; it calls to us, like the wild geese, from an open sky" (p. 2).

Housden (TEN POEMS TO OPEN YOUR HEART; RISKING EVERYTHING: 110 POEMS OF LOVE AND REVELATION) knows great poetry, the kind of poetry that "has the power to start a fire in your life" (p. 1). He has drawn the ten poems collected here from around the world and from different centuries, including accessible selections from Mary Oliver, Antonio Machado, Walt Whitman, Rumi, Kabir, Pablo Neruda, Galway Kinnell, W. S. Merwin, Derek Walcott, and St. John of the Cross. Each poem encourages us to "Wake up and Love," and to open our eyes "to the wonder of what is around us; to the wonder of what is deep inside the human heart; and above all, to be awake to the presence, the sensation, of our own being, in the midst of all of it" (p. 116). Housden annotates each poem with insightful commentary based on his own personal experience.

G. Merritt

This is a wonderful book that will cause you to take stock in your life. This selection of ten poems is terrific alone - but the authors commentary helps weave them together and provides thought provoking insight that will inspire you.

Each of us is on a different pathway in our own spiritual journey. By just picking up a book with a title that promises to change your life, you are admitting that your mind is open to that possibility. I found this book sitting on a shelf in a quaint store in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and as I skimmed the pages, I stopped and read one of the ten poems presented in this book. Immediately I knew that this was a book that I would read over and over again in my own search for spiritual truth. This book is to the soul what chocolate is to the taste buds.

Roger has done us two great favors with this book. It is increasingly hard to recognise truly authentic voices in the sea of information and social discourse we all struggle to navigate. Roger introduces us to 10 of them - and in my case, many are new, and I'm so grateful to meet them. Secondly, his lovingly crafted interpretations of each poem serve to kick start us, his readers, into the very rewarding act of interpreting poetry for ourselves. I plan to allow one week for each poem and, inspired by Roger, see what insights come from my own dialogue with the poetry.

Thanks, Roger. WHAT a gift!

I love this book, "10 Poems to Change Your Life"! I came across the poem "The Journey" while reading an issue of "O" magazine along with an article about the author, Roger Housden. Whether you're a poetry lover or not, this book will, without a doubt, stir some things around in you. I am at somewhat of a turning point in my life and "10 Poems" (along with my Master) are my inspiration. Mr. Housden has a wonderful gift of interpreting these poems. I appreciate him for putting this together. Everyone should own this book!

This little book is a powerhouse for those on the path of self transformation and global understanding. The essence of the book is captured in Housden's words on page 55: "Here we are, in a time that more than ever before is beginning to value personal experience over the wisdom of received authority...." The power of the poetry between the covers of this small book is helping many to "generate a global dialogue independent of all creed and cultural boundaries."