The heart of Zen practice and writing are the same, teaches Peter Matthiessen – to freshen the mind and see things in a new way. On Zen and the Writing Life, Matthiessen chronicles his own 25 years of growth as both a writer and a meditator. Can meditation be used to broaden and clarify the writer’s vision? How do you cultivate a "beginner’s mind"? Here is an extraordinary writer’s personal account of these never-ending tasks – and essential listening for all writers interested in the spiritual life.
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Book Description
The author chronicles his own 25 years as both a writer & meditator. Addresses questions such as: Can meditation be used to broaden & clarify the writer's vision? What do you do when story ideas & other brainstorms flood your sitting practice? How do you cultivate a "beginner's mind" in daily observations & then capture these elusive gems on the written page?
About the Author
Nature writer and novelist Peter Matthiessen was born in New York City on May 22, 1927. He graduated from Yale University in 1950. He worked as a commercial fisherman and the captain of a charter fishing boat and made several scientific expeditions to Alaska, Peru and New Guinea. He and Harold L. Humes founded the Paris Review, and Matthiessen was its first fiction editor. Matthiessen's nature books include "Wildlife in America," "The Clouded Forest: A Chronicle of the South American Wilderness" and "Under the Mountain Wall." His fiction includes "At Play in the Fields of the Lord," which was made into a movie starring Tom Berenger and was nominated for the National Book Award. Matthiessen's other awards include the John Burroughs Medal and the African Wildlife Leadership Foundation Award.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Zen and the Writing Life,
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This review is from: Zen and the Writing Life (Audio Cassette)
This is a seminar Matthiessen did on writing as a meditation. This lecture is quite different from Matthiessen's other works, in that it is far less polished. This is NOT to imply any negative conotation but rather to imply how refreshing and helpful this material is. Matthiessen focuses on his own history as a writer discussing his successes and his failures and those experiences that have been humbling and helpful in his gorwth as a writer and with his Zen life. In addition he also discusses some important practical considerations and suggestions for someone interested in and pursuing writing both as an avocation and a career. I would have no problem highly recommending this tape.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fantastic lecture on writing and a little zen,
By roan (oregon) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Zen and the Writing Life (Audio Cassette)
Matthiessen is a very good speaker and teacher. He discusses his methods in an honest way. He speaks of zen in the sense of doing and not thinking of doing. His remarks and stories are at once deep and shallow. Deep in their truthfulness and shallow in the sense that he's surprisingly funny and jokes around a little. There's no secret to reveal, though. It is clear that he works quite hard. These tapes also contain interesting boigraphical information. He quotes, and comments on, several other writers. Hemmingway and Camas are two examples. He talks about his travels and publishing experiences, with the careful, and insightful, descriptions that fill his writing. His is a solid, earthy zen. The idea of "suchness" is emphasized. Hearing him speak about his journals and comrades like Schaller make me feel as if he's at the table with me.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
In fiction, you have a rough idea what's coming up next - sometimes you even make a little outline - but in fact you don't know.,
By J. H. Minde "Everything I need is right here" (Boca Raton, Florida and Brooklyn, New York) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Zen and the Writing Life (Audio Cassette)
Make this a well-spent two hours of your life. ZEN AND THE WRITING LIFE is full of self-reflection, colorful storytelling, intense emotion, and humor. You need not be a Zen practitioner nor a writer to appreciate Peter Matthiessen's lessons, though every writer and every Zen student should have access to this audiobook lecture. The practical advice the multiply award-winning author of 28 fiction and non-fiction books gives us on subjects from note-taking to plotting to scheduling your workday is invaluable. Also invaluable is the insight this Zen roshi gives us into the life of heightened awareness which is so necessary to both good writing and Zen practice.
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