Poetry Books

This book could be a good read for those seeking timeless wisdom and guidance on achieving balance and harmony in their lives. With its concise and insightful advice, it imparts a serene and generous spirit that teaches us how to work effortlessly for the greater good. Stephen Mitchell's translation captures the essence of Lao-tzu's Tao Te Ching, enabling readers to tap into the basic principle of the universe and find their own path towards fulfillment.

Recommendation: The Bhagavad Gita is a powerful and timeless spiritual guide that provides insightful teachings on finding inner peace and purpose. Through the story of Prince Arjuna's internal struggle, this book offers profound lessons on self-mastery and the pursuit of a meaningful life. Whether you seek guidance in navigating personal dilemmas or expanding your spiritual understanding, The Bhagavad Gita is a must-read for anyone on a journey of self-discovery and transformation.

The Tao Te Ching offers a unique and insightful perspective on spirituality that is still relevant today. This edition, translated and introduced by David Hinton, does an excellent job of revealing the contemporary applicability of the text. The book discusses the Tao, a concept of universal harmony and balance, and provides practical advice on how to achieve these states of being. This book is perfect for those seeking to improve their mindfulness and spiritual awareness.

'The Song of Krishna' is a must-read for anyone interested in learning about Hindu philosophy and moral guidance. This beautifully illustrated book pairs exquisite Indian art with Edwin Arnold's classic English verse translation, making it both visually stunning and intellectually enriching. The concise conversations between Krishna and Arjuna offer practical advice on leading a principled life, which readers from all backgrounds can find insightful.

This book is a great read for anyone interested in a different approach to personal success. Tao Te Ching provides a perspective that is focused on attunement, inner peace, and fulfillment rather than command-and-control leadership or mindless struggle. The book opens up new possibilities and ways of thinking on personal development. With a new introduction by Tom Butler Bowdon, this book is an excellent gift edition for anyone looking for inspiration and guidance on attunement, fulfillment, and peace.

Boethius composed De Consolation Philosophiae in the sixth century A.D. while awaiting death by torture, condemned on a charge of plotting against Gothic rule, which he protested as manifestly unjust. Though a Christian, Boethius details the true end of life as the soul's knowledge of God, and consoles himself with the tenets of Greek philosophy, not with Christian precepts. Written in a form called Meippean Satire that alternates between prose and verse, Boethius' work often consists of a story told by Ovid or Horace to illustrate the philosophy being expounded. The Consolation of Philosophy dominated the intellectual world of the Middle Ages; it inspired writers as diverse Thomas Aquinas, Jean de Meun, and Dante. In England it was rendered into Old English by Alfred the Great, into Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer, and later Queen Elizabeth I made her own translation. The circumstances of composition, the heroic demeanor of the author, and the Meippean texture of part prose, part verse have been a fascination for students of philosophy, literature, and religion ever since.

One of the five Confucian classics, The Book of Songs (Shijing) is the oldest collection of poetry in world literature and the finest treasure of traditional songs left from antiquity. Where the other Confucian classics treat “outward things: deeds, moral precepts, the way the world works,” as Stephen Owen tells us in his foreword, The Book of Songs is “the classic of the human heart and the human mind.”

Recommendation: This book is recommended for those who enjoy reading autobiographies of people who have lived unconventional lives. The unique and distinctive feature of this book is its narrative style, which is unvarnished and straightforward. It offers insight into the difficult life of a traveling tramp, and provides a glimpse into the harsher side of American life during the Great Depression. Readers who appreciate a raw human experience and a unique perspective on life will appreciate this book.

When words of love do not come to you on their own, then read these letters. Complete, actual love letters of great men like Lord Byron, John Keats and Voltaire. Leaders like Henry VIII, George Washington, and Napoleon, who wrote to his beloved Josephine, "I awake consumed with thoughts of you..." Artists like van Gogh, Mozart, and Beethoven, who famously penned, "Though still in bed, my thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved..." Dozens of intimate letters, coupled with over a score of period illustrations. Plus fascinating biographies, and insights into the couples' relationships-how they got there, the obstacles they faced, and what happened next. Poet warriors, from the first through the twentieth century, Ovid, Sir Walter Raleigh, Goethe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Leo Tolstoy, Victor Hugo, Shelley, Robert Browning, Edgar Allen Poe, Mark Twain, Lewis Carroll, Pierre Curie, George Bernard Shaw, Jack London, Admiral Peary, Woodrow Wilson, and many more.

Composed more than 2,000 years ago during a turbulent period of Chinese history, the Dao de jing set forth an alternative vision of reality in a world torn apart by violence and betrayal. Daoism, as this subtle but enduring philosophy came to be known, offers a comprehensive view of experience grounded in a full understanding of the wonders hidden in the ordinary. Now in this luminous new translation, based on the recently discovered ancient bamboo scrolls, China scholars Roger T. Ames and David L. Hall bring the timeless wisdom of the Dao de jing into our contemporary world.Though attributed to Laozi, “the Old Master,” the Dao de jing is, in fact, of unknown authorship and may well have originated in an oral tradition four hundred years before the time of Christ. Eschewing philosophical dogma, the Dao de jing set forth a series of maxims that outlined a new perspective on reality and invited readers to embark on a regimen of self-cultivation. In the Daoist world view, each particular element in our experience sends out an endless series of ripples throughout the cosmos. The unstated goal of the Dao de jing is self-transformation–the attainment of personal excellence that flows from the world and back into it. Responding to the teachings of Confucius, the Dao de jing revitalizes moral behavior by recommending a spontaneity made possible by the cultivated “habits” of the individual.In this elegant volume, Ames and Hall feature the original Chinese texts of the Dao de jing and translate them into crisp, chiseled English that reads like poetry. Each of the eighty-one brief chapters is followed by clear, thought-provoking commentary exploring the layers of meaning in the text. The book’s extensive introduction is a model of accessible scholarship in which Ames and Hall consider the origin of the text, place the emergence of Daoist philosophy in its historical and political context, and outline its central tenets.The Dao de jing is a work of timeless wisdom and beauty, as vital today as it was in ancient China. This new version will stand as both a compelling introduction to the complexities of Daoist thought and as the classic modern English translation.

The Harz Journey is a great read for those who are interested in German travels and poetic language. The book is a unique blend of travelogue and poetry that gives the reader a vivid insight into the German landscapes and culture. The author Heinrich Heine is a master of storytelling and his deep understanding of not only the physical but the emotional terrain of the country shines through in every page. Overall, The Harz Journey is a must-read for lovers of travel and literature.

The Bhagavad-Gita has been an essential text of Hindu culture in India since the time of its composition in the first century A.D. One of the great classics of world literature, it has inspired such diverse thinkers as Henry David Thoreau, Mahatma Gandhi, and T.S. Eliot; most recently, it formed the core of Peter Brook's celebrated production of the Mahabharata.