Synopses & Reviews
In these times of global and personal uncertainty, why turn to poetry? In Saved by a Poem, Kim Rosen reveals how a poem can be a companion through difficulty—acting as a guide when we are lost; a salve when we are wounded; and a conduit to insight, freedom, and joy.
Since Kim understands that many avoid poetry because they are intimidated or “just don’t get it,” she offers a new way to experience a poem. She rejects the traditional academic approach and encourages you instead to feel the poem as an affirmation or prayer that brings every level of who you are—your thoughts, feelings, and even your physical energies—into alignment with what matters most. This can help you gain deeper insight into your life and may just inspire a profound transformation.
Kim weaves her story with those of people around the world who use poetry to light a path through the darkest moments. She teaches how to select a poem with personal significance, how to find your voice, and how to free your expression from fear and habit. Speaking poetry aloud brings its medicine to all who hear it—dissolving separation, fostering truth, and awakening the heart. Also included is a CD featuring well-known authors and visionaries reading a favorite poem and discussing its impact on their lives.
Review
“This book puts forward poetry as literary ecology, concerned with the protection and preservation of our souls. It is a call, a guide, an invitation to know poetry, to find poetry, to remember poetry. It suggests that turning to poetry can become a necessary practice, like turning off a water faucet or not using a plastic bag. . . . For those who are afraid of poetry, this is a door opening; for those who love poetry, this is a sure deepening.”
— Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues and Insecure at Last
Review
andldquo;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).andrdquo;and#160;andmdash; Dr. Christiane Northrup, M.D., author of The Secret Pleasures of Menopause; The Wisdom of Menopause; Womenandrsquo;s Bodies, Womenandrsquo;s Wisdom; and Mother-Daughter Wisdom
Review
andldquo;Rarely in oneandrsquo;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.andrdquo;and#160;andmdash; Cheryl Richardson, author of The Art of Extreme Self-Care
Review
andldquo;Kim Rosenandrsquo;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.andrdquo;and#160;andmdash; Roger Housden, author of Ten Poems to Change Your Life
Review
andldquo;Kim Rosenandrsquo;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.andrdquo;and#160;andmdash; Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul and Writing in the Sand
Review
andldquo;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 opensandmdash;and holds openandmdash;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.andrdquo;and#160;and#160;andmdash; Jane Hirshfield, author of Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetry
Review
andldquo;Kim Rosenandrsquo;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.andrdquo; and#160;andmdash;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Andrew Harvey, author of The Way of Passion: A Celebration of Rumi and The Hope: A Guide to Sacred Activism
Review
andldquo;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.andrdquo;and#160;andmdash;
Sharon Salzberg,and#160;author of
Loving Kindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness Review
andldquo;Kim Rosen is bringing poetry back to where it belongsandmdash;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 isand#160;crucial and life saving.andrdquo;and#160;andmdash; Marie Howe, author ofand#160;What the Living Doand#160;andand#160;The Kingdom of Ordinary Time
Synopsis
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."
Synopsis
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Can someone really be saved by a poem? In
Kim Rosenandrsquo;s book, the answer is a resounding andldquo;Yes!andrdquo; 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.
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; 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.
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; 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.
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.
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Website: www.kimrosen.net
and#160;