Best poetry books according to redditors
We found 1,904 Reddit comments discussing the best poetry books. We ranked the 802 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 1,904 Reddit comments discussing the best poetry books. We ranked the 802 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Here it is, yo:
https://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Death-Poems-Written-Monks/dp/0804831793
It's available on Amazon!
Pain by The Authors of Pain: The debut poetry collection from WWE tag team and literary powerhouse The Authors of Pain.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074SFN64R/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ykaZAbGJNERA0
https://www.amazon.com/Pain-Authors-collection-literary-powerhouse-ebook/dp/B074SFN64R
Nobody else has said much, so I'll help with what I can. For awhile this was one of my favorite mythemes and although I can't recall any specific info/theories about the significance of eating in the underworld, I may be able to at least point you in the right direction.
There is a chapter in Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces dedicated to these myths (there are dozens spread across the world), so you might want to check there first. I remember he detailed a number of these stories and recounted key similarities and differences, I just can't recall if he gave any specific info about the significance of food or drink.
I also recommend checking up the Mesopotamian myths of Inanna/Ishtar. Her stories feature all the templates for an underworld descent you mention here and it is possibly the oldest recorded work of literature (iirc some of the tablets that the story is recorded on are literally oldest narrative texts we've recovered). Her story is only slightly different in that she is a goddess and therefore the underworld she is visiting is her sister's realm. It's a great read and in particular I can recommend Diane Wolkstein's excellent translation/adaptation. This volume not only tells the story, but also provides a few great essays that might contain the answer you're looking for.
Full Story - I thought it was really ridiculous that there's a tag team called "The Authors of Pain" and they've never actually written a book called Pain, so I got a bunch of my friends together to write it for them. Originally it was just a digital book, but you guys really dug it so I formatted it for paperback and it's now available on Amazon for $4.
https://www.amazon.com/Pain-Authors-collection-literary-powerhouse-ebook/dp/B074SFN64R
You can still download a free pdf of it at http://supercolliderpress.com/
It's a book of bad poetry from the perspective of Akam and Rezar and with a foreword by Paul Ellering. This thing took several months to put together and I could not be more proud of this. Former WWE writer Matt McCarthy, the head writer of Kayfabe News, the creator of Botched Spot and RD Reynolds of Wrestlecrap.com and a bunch of other really funny writers even contributed pieces. Now it's a literal, physical book which is insane to me.
Edit: Regarding all of the comments about the legality of this, I have a few friends that are parody book publishers that I talked this over with. I'm certainly in a legal grey area, but I doubt this thing is going to set the world on fire sales wise and it's available as a free download at the previously posted Supercollider Press page so I'm definitely not trying to get rich off of it. I mainly created the paperback because a bunch of people in the old thread asked for copies. If I'm asked to take it down, I will but until then I'm not super worried about it. Regardless, the heads up is appreciated.
His name is Sam Garland.. and for fans of his work he has a nice poetry book that you can buy on Amazon.
Here is a link to the hardcover version on Amazon. :)
For anyone who's interested, there's a newly released translation by JRR Tolkien out. I've only read excerpts so far, but it seems more lyrical than Heaney's translation.
He has one book published. It's more of a children's prosetry thing though.
*man. His name is Sam Garland.
(I'll go ahead and plug his book for him, while I'm at it)
Here are my recommendations, in no particular order:
As for the Bible and Koran, well, perhaps some of the early myths which snuck into Jewish lore, and by extension the Bible and Koran, may be of interest to you:
Additionally, if you're interested in folklore, and analysis of folklore, then looking to Russia is a very good idea:
Hi,
I have been trying to learn a bit Icelandic myself, as a Norwegian, I do see some similiarities between the two languages, but belive me when I say that Icelandic is crazy difficult. It's not to put you off, but you have to be prepeared.
I bought a nice little book to get me started, I haven't read so many "learn-languages-yourself books" so I can't really comparere, but I found this to be helpful (looks like it's sold out :( )
Icelandic have, as you pointed out, grammatical genders, wich means that you will have to learn what "gender" a noun have. Icelandic have 3 genders, masculin, feminin and neuter. You will have to learn the genders with the nouns. The difficult thing with grammatical genders is that it does not seem to follow any rules. (In Norwegian for instance, "Pike", wich means "little girl" is a masculin noun)
Some nice websites
You should see the rest of it. http://www.amazon.com/Beowulf-Verse-Translation-Bilingual-Edition/dp/0393320979/ref=zg_bs_10254_2
At least, I'm assuming /u/WeirdBrotherBrad is quoting the Heaney translation because of the "So." and because why would you read any other English translation of Beowulf?
For an opposing perspective, I'd say that you should be aware that the 'dryness' of norse style was part of their culture. They had a very unique literary style compared to both the past and present. Its not especially hard to understand, its just different. If you read the saga of the Volsungs or the poetic Edda (called Edda) you'll see what i mean. Note that dry doesn't mean boring, I remember when i started reading those two works that people start getting decapitated within the first couple pages and I didn't have much trouble understanding the overarching story.
Its also unintentionally hilarious, you'll have a character that gets some amount of buildup and he'll just randomly die and the story seemingly just moves to another place and starts again (note this is more apparent in the volsung saga than Edda since that one is supposed to be a single long story where Edda is a compilation). There are a bunch of really odd things like impromptu rap battles, naming of places based on really random events like 'Thorsteinkilledgoatplace' and how every hero's downfall is caused by their wife, often in the most passive aggresive way. "there are a bunch of people trying to kill us and they set this house on fire, can you help so we can escape? no you are a jerk, we will both die here"
I really enjoyed the above two books and I think it'd be a better idea to check them out first before moving towards 2nd/3rd hand interpretations that are going to strip away some of that silly dryness that made it so charming.
https://smile.amazon.com/Saga-Volsungs-ebook/dp/B000FC25SI/ref=sr_1_6?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1486592659&sr=1-6&keywords=volsungs
https://smile.amazon.com/Edda-Everymans-Library-Snorri-Sturluson/dp/0460876163/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=5W5SHR3X9PY1PNZ29A8S
Hey VA. Awesome question. In my opinion, the best thing you can do to improve your writing is read voraciously. A lot of people say, read "hard" books above your ability, but I think truly hard reading is reading stuff outside the bounds of what you normally read. For instance, if you love SF/Fantasy novels, read some literary fiction. If you're into pulp romance novels, read some fan fiction.
It also helps to think about what you mean by improved writing, because a lot of the most beautiful, exquisite novels don't do well commercially with a few rare exceptions, like Thomas Pynchon. Gravity's Rainbow is notorious for being almost unreadable; a Dostoyevsky novel is considered some of the most elite literature in the world, yet to me, it's unreadable. I feel the same way about Tolkein's books. Tolkein was writing to document his languages. He was a very 'correct' English writer, but stylistically I find him very dull.
Immediate writers who can craft a vivid world and story are my favorite. Kurt Vonnegut, Chuck Palahniuk, Tom Robbins are all great novelists with a very specific style. You gotta just devour writing of all kinds.
I also find that reading and writing poetry has crafted my understanding of precise, sexy word choice and pacing tremendously. Check out The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry. A lot of these poems are from the beat generation era writers, who struggled with exactly what you're talking about, growing up in that 1950's mentality which was very repressive.
Finally, you have your own lifestyle. The best writing tends to be the most honest and direct experience of the writer. Consider what a personal revolution would be to you, what you intensely love, the things you wish for but are afraid to do. Honestly, if you want to approach the highest level of writing, go do some of those things. Or at least fantasize about doing them in your writing. A great example is Samuel R. Delany - he is a very gay, african american writer who grew up repressed by society from every side, but he also had a really wild sex life, and he was able to use those details in his writing. It isn't smut, but he knows smut. It isn't racist, or the kind of bitter, woe-is-me writing that a lot of minorities or subcultures can't escape - but it's informed by that narrative, as well as the counter-narrative of affluent white people who don't even think in those terms. So reading a Delany novel (most of which are Sci Fi novels) is an intense experience. I get so much value from those books, because he's taken the time to really go into these issues that, being gay and black, he can't ignore. If you can start thinking in these terms, you can start making literature on a really high level. It doesn't matter how exquisite your vocabulary is, or how complex your plot structures are - it just matters how you see and interact with the world, your world, and how immersively you can bring us into that world.
This reminds me to pre-order a copy. Looking on Amazon, I found these two options: option 1 and option 2
The seemed to have different ISBN numbers and different publishers, but the same page count and cover. Any idea which is the better option?
Plantinga wrote 3 books related to this subject. He wrote "Warrant: The Current Debate" to give an overview of the field of philosophy on what needs to be added to true beliefs to yield knowledge. Then he wrote "Warrant and Proper Function" to give his own take. Finally he wrote "Warranted Christian Belief" which basically applies his epistemology to Christian belief. So the guy has done a ton of work in epistemology and also applying epistemology to Christianity.
Links to Books:
https://www.amazon.com/Warrant-Current-Debate-Alvin-Plantinga/dp/0195078624
https://www.amazon.com/Warrant-Proper-Function-Alvin-Plantinga/dp/0195078640/ref=pd_sim_14_1/164-8766607-7794903?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=H9CQMRJ1GDZG8WF2EHQ8
https://www.amazon.com/Warranted-Christian-Belief-Alvin-Plantinga/dp/0195131932/ref=pd_sim_14_2/164-8766607-7794903?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=H9CQMRJ1GDZG8WF2EHQ8
All of them.
If you traveled in time to 3013 AD you'd likely not even be able to speak the language. If you want an idea what 1000 years has done to English find a copy of Beowulf with the original translation like this
That is most likely how different English will look in 3013.
Now that doesn't answer "Will names be the same"
Chances are... Probably yes. Will they look the same as we know them now? Hell no. They'll be spelled differently, and might even have different characters in them. For all we know "James" might change to "Jæm$" in 1000 years.
This quick Google result (Warning: It does not site sources) shows a few common names still in use. My guess is most of these will survive. And if we look at the past century the SSA has the top 100 names in the past 100 years here: http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decades/century.html
My hunch is there will always be someone who names their child one of these names.
That there is no reason to suppose we are being irrational by believing it without trying to ground it in some other belief; we are rationally entitled to take it as the foundation of our reasoning and arguments. Alvin Plantinga is known for arguing that theism is such a belief, but I think he's exaggerating when he says his epistemology means that it's rational to believe in God "without any evidence or argument at all", since a properly basic belief is still rooted in experience on his view. For a fuller picture, see Plantinga's Warrant and Proper Function, among his many other works on the subject.
> May this marriage be blessed. May this marriage be as sweet as milk and honey. May this marriage be as intoxicating as old wine. May this marriage be fruitful like a date tree. May this marriage be full of laughter and everyday a paradise. May this marriage be a seal of compassion for here and hereafter. May this marriage be as welcome as the full moon in the night sky. Listen lovers, now you go on, as I become silent and kiss this blessed night.
or this from Khalil Gibran's The Prophet:
> Let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.
I bought it at Barnes and Noble, but it is also available on Amazon here.
This book is heavy, so it doubles as a brick for smashing in the windows of capitalist bourgeois pigs. Reading it is like taking a shot of tabasco sauce and injecting it into your eye with a hypodermic needle.
I had to buy this one on ebay, but it's a damn fine collection. Makes me want to hand out LSD-laced lollypops to schoolkids, then piss on the grave of H.W. Longfellow.
These two have all the good ones of the 20th century, a clean layout, and a fine selection. Good for reading beneath a tree in the autumn, in a graveyard.
It's edited by Rita Dove, so you know this collection has good taste. The poems are from a wide spread of poetry movements, but personally, I find a lot of the pieces in it to be a little too 'delicate'. But very good for reading naked in bed, while softly stroking the hair of your sleeping lover.
Got all the biggies like Byron, Shelly and Keats. I fuckin love Keats. This book is a great introduction to 19th century poetry. This is good for reading on a bus while driving past a field of flowers on a humid summer evening with the windows open, reminiscing about your high school crush.
Clearly, you haven't read their book.
No your ramble makes sense don't worry. I have the same issue, if I ever see a comment by them I just skip them since it's pretty pointless to read a poem version of the comment I just read. But I mean, isn't there a poem for your sprog book? He made some sort of money off of his internet fame. Kinda like Shitty Watercolour or A Wild Sketch Appeared.
(I prefer Druidry to Druidism, rolls off the tongue better).
Yes, you can do whatever you want. It's a belief system, a way of life, it is not Ikea plans. There is no right or wrong when it comes to someone's beliefs :)
As far as 'a certain ancestry', I assume you mean people of northern European descent claiming only they can be Asatru?
Look, here's the thing. Any neo-pagan religion is reconstructionist. Fact is there is very very little documentation of non-Abrahamic religions in Europe from the middle ages and previously. Even Greco-Roman religious practices and customs are largely speculative and taken from recorded myth and legend. For the most part 'pagan' religious weren't even very organized and beliefs could vary wildly from group to group, region to region, decade to decade.
I recommend you read the various myths and legends of all European cultures and even the Greco-Roman ones. You'll see a lot of recurring themes, the names of the heroes and deities will change but you see the same stories over and over.
Look at Thor vs Perun. Zeus vs Jupiter. Hel vs Prosperina vs Persephone. Hell look at the native tribes of North America, you'll see a dozen or more versions of Coyote.
Do what feels right to you, and don't be afraid to drift. But first, really dive into the source material for the deities we know about. I'll edit this post shortly with some things to start with.
--------------
Edit:
That's a good start.
Also wherever you live find the Audubon society book for trees and the like in your area, you should be able to find one for your region on Amazon used for 5-10$.
From a post I made awhile back:
If you want to go for a scholastic/western positive apologetics approach check out: The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology.
If you want to go for a scholastic/western negative apologetics approach check out Alvin Plantinga's God and Other Minds. This is the work that actually re-kindled serious philosophical debate on the existence of God in Anglophone philosophical circles according to Quinten Smith (a notable atheist philosopher btw). From there you could also check out Alvin Plantinga's warrant trilogy in order: Warrant: The Current Debate, Warrant and Proper Function, and Warranted Christian Belief.
Personally I'm skeptical of the scholastic/western approach in general and I favor the Eastern/Mystical approach. I think the scholastic/western approach cannot escape radical skepticism, and I mean this in terms of secular and religious. If one takes seriously the scholastic/western approach in general, whether one is atheist or theist, radical skepticism follows. This video from a radical skeptic that goes by the user name Carneades.org does a good job of demonstrating this: Arguments of the Indirect Skeptic
The Orthodox approach has always been mystical rather than scholastic all the way from the beginnings of Christianity. From Jesus, to the apostles, to the church fathers, to right now we still have the original apostolic faith in the Orthodox Church. Check out this short documentary to learn more: Holy Orthodoxy: The Ancient Church of Acts in the 21st Century.
Fr. Vladimir Berzonsky explains the Eastern/Mystical approach: "To properly understand the Orthodox approach to the Fathers, one must first of all understand the mystical characteristic of Orthodox theology and the tradition of the apophatic approach to an understanding-if "understanding" is indeed the proper word-of what the hidden God in Trinity reveals to us. This needs to be combined with the insight that what is incomprehensible to our reason inspires us to rise above every attempt at philosophical limitation and to reach for an experience beyond the limits of the intellect. The experience of God is a transcendence born from union with the divine-henosis (oneness with God) being the ultimate goal of existence. This makes the requirement of true knowledge (gnosis) the abandoning of all hope of the conventional subject-object approach to discovery. It requires setting aside the dead ends of Scholasticism, nominalism, and the limits set by such Kantian paradigms as noumena/phenomena. One must return to, or better yet, find in one's heart (or nous, the soul's eye) union with the Holy Trinity, which has never been lost in the Orthodox Church."
Source: Fr. Vladimir Berzonsky, (2004). Three Views on Eastern Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism. p. 178. Zondervan, Grand Rapids
Wow, people really have had bad exposure to haikus based on these comments. 5-7-5, or what have you (there are a few different forms in Japanese), just doesn't work for the English language, so generally is discarded when writing or translating into English. Traditionally they related to nature in some way, but not exclusively. The point is to make a very short poem that is evocative of some sort of emotion, scene, or sensation. Non-haiku poetry often has the same goal, but without any restrictions on length, and it may use other devices like meter, rhyme, etc. The haiku masters were really good; some of these little poems can really take you to another place with just a few words. It's like the distilled essence of poetry. I'd highly recommend picking up a book of them, I bought this one a while back, his translations are really good.
Edit: Found some decent translations of some of Buson's poems here too. He was always my favorite.
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
If this is something you do regularly, I'd recommend checking out this book. It contains several really good hymns to Inanna, the Sumerian/Babylonian goddess associated with Venus and love.
Evan Currie's Odyssey One series is more military than pure space opera, but it is awesome.
The Golden Oecumene series by John C Wright is a Transhuman Space Opera of epic proportions. I highly recommend it.
Rachel Bach has a great series called Fortunes Pawn. Also a lil closer to military sci-fi but it has some nice Space Opera themes.
Joshua Dalzelle has a great series called the Black Fleet, again more military sci-fi than true space opera, but very good none the less.
The Reality Dysfunction series though, if you are looking for a meaty Space opera to lose yourself in is a must read series.
____
I almost forgot about the Manifold Series by Stephen Baxter and the Darwin's Radio series by Greg Bear. Both are phenomenal reads, and while technically they are set in the near future and aren't space opera per say, they are must reads for anyone into Sci-Fi.
This may be something you would enjoy. It's a book of 100 famous poems.
http://www.amazon.com/Best-Loved-Poems-Dover-Thrift-Editions/dp/0486285537
One of my favorites is a haiku by the poet Kiba, who died in 1868 at the age of ninety.
In Japanese:
Oi no mi ya
hazue no omoru
tsuyu no tama
An english translation:
My old body:
a drop of dew grown
heavy at the leaf tip.
I got this from Hoffman's compilation of jisei called Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death.
One way of sidestepping the Gettier Problem, particularly in light of examples like this one, popularized by Alvin Goldman, is to say that justification should not be thought of as wholly internal to an agents beliefs. That is, things outside of an agent’s belief such as whether the belief was caused in the right way, or whether the belief was formed by a reliable belief-forming process, contribute to whether or not the belief is “justified.” This view is called justificatory externalism and I think it’s at least partly right. If we accept some aspects of externalism, the Gettier problem becomes much less problematic.
One externalist view of justification, more nuanced in my opinion than Goldman's, is Alvin Plantinga's "proper-functionalism" as laid out in his book Warrant and Proper Function. On Plantinga's model, if our cognitive faculties (the ones specifically designed for producing true beliefs) are functioning properly in the way they were designed (either by God, as Plantinga would want to have it, but more likely, by evolution, or even "socially designed"), in the environment for which they are designed, and a true belief is formed, it is knowledge. So, in the robot dog case, since this isn't the sort of environment for which my faculties were designed (we didn't evolve in a world populated with both dogs and robot dogs) and it impairs my descriminative ability, it wouldn't be knowledge, even though it is true belief.
"Warrant" is substituted with "Justification" here, but it functions in much the same way as a JBT account.
And yet, ironically, he's the one with a new book scheduled to come out this year.
I've used Hippocrene's Beginner's Icelandic as well as Complete Icelandic. I fell off the wagon and haven't devoted any time recently to learning, but both books were helpful when I was trying to learn. If I had to choose only one of them, I'd probably choose Complete Icelandic, but they were useful to me in tandem because each covered little things that the other didn't.
I've also heard that Icelandic Learning is very useful. IIRC, you have to pass the entire course before you can apply for citizenship/visas. I could be wrong on that, it's been a few years.
John Blofeld's introduction to Red Pine's The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain.
I'm pretty sure there's a collection of the pics you mention in The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry. It's amazing to see.
You'll find Christ because you're asking. You shall receive.
One of the best books to explore the relationship between Man and God is Coleman Bark's translations of the Sufi Mystic, Rumi.
But to know Christ, you need to read the Gospels.
As for reading, check out The Poetry Foundation. They have a huge archive of poetry for you to check out. Hang out in this subreddit and read the poems posted. If you like a poem, post a comment and ask which poets are similar to that style, then look them up. The OCPoetry subreddit has a wealth of original poetry content - but keep in mind that the caliber of work there will obviously be mixed. But it's good to see the contributions of ordinary people, either as a way of engaging with a community or as a barometer of your own abilities once you start writing.
And as for writing, I can't recommend this book enough: Ted Kooser's Poetry Home Repair Manual. It's worth the 10-15 bucks or whatever to order it. It contains lots of examples of poetry from many authors, and Kooser's advice is indispensable.
And always remember - with any art, you want to take in more than you put out. Read more than you write. Absorb everything you can. I get the impression that most mediocre OCpoetry that I read is probably written by people who haven't taken the time to actually read poetry. It's essential. Good luck!
This is a great question! I'm going to follow all of the recommendations as well, since we recite poetry to our baby. It started out because we were doing it when he was still too little to sit up and be read a book at bed time. Now he loves books so much they work him up at bed time and I still enjoy the poetry side of things as I feel like I've expanded my knowledge at the same time!
I was actually going to just get a spiral book bound with our nighttime favourites, but I'd love to find an illustrated version for later on.
We have this book: https://www.amazon.com/Best-Loved-Poems-Dover-Thrift-Editions/dp/0486285537 and we read him anything from Shakespeare to Robert frost. His personal favourite is jabberwocky though :)
"Edda" by Snorri Sturluson
Good answer. If you don't mind, I'll elaborate on a couple of points.
There are many translations of the Poetic Edda, and they all differ somewhat. There's a thread a ways down asking about different translations. The key thing to remember is that no translation is perfect - every translator has to make their best effort to capture the "sense" of a piece, and that leads to varied interpretations.
Hollander and Bellows are the standards, and you can't go wrong with those. I recommend the Terry or Larrington translations if you're looking for something more accessible.
If you're interested in the Prose Edda, I recommend picking up the Everyman edition of it, as it's the only print version I've found that contains the third book, Hattatal. That's Snorri's treatise on skaldic poetry - 102 verse-forms explained.
Read these books:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Mahabharata-Penguin-Classics-Anonymous/dp/0140446818
and
http://www.amazon.com/Ramayana-Shortened-Version-Penguin-Classics/dp/0143039679/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382550210&sr=1-1&keywords=ramayana+r.k.+narayan
The Golden Age trilogy has a lot of future-law in it. The main character is essentially caught up in a legal battle which he can't remember due to his memories being erased. One of my favorites of the last 10 years or so.
I don't read so much fantasy (the closest involves dragons in The Napoleonic Wars… alt history instead of fantasy), but for sci-fi I have one suggestion I frequently mention here. The Golden Age by John C Wright is the most densely compacted sci-fi epic I have ever read in a 300 page book. There is only one main character instead of an ensemble, but every other page introduces another element of the universe to wrap you melting noggin around that, for some, the pace of reading will be slow. I myself slammed through it for fear of forgetting or never finishing it. The second and third book of the series (the author intended it to be one doorstopper, but the publisher wanted to cut it up) ease up a lot compared to the first. READ SOME REVIEWS FIRST. Also the third book has an appendix that should have been included in the first book. If you see it on a bookstore, flip through it.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Golden-Age-John-Wright/dp/0765336693
You may be interested in the Prose Edda, which is a more systematic account. Gods and Myths of Northern Europe is also a standard text, assuming that you want something academic.
It's way too close to the word inane for my taste.
However, if you want to consider it, I found this book linked in an article about the goddess (along with a poem wherein she wondered who would plow her vulva, so take that as you will) that purports to gather the pieces of the goddess's story as told by the ancients. I'm seeing a lot of conflation with Ishtar and even Aphrodite, so goodness knows how accurate any of this stuff is.
My personal favourite work on the subject of Inanna-Ishtar is Ishtar by Louise M. Pryke as part of Routledge's Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World series.
It's quite expensive in hardback form, so I suggest trying out the Kindle edition or searching around elsewhere. Perhaps you'll be able to find it in another format.
Also, of course, there's Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth by Diane Wolkstein. I've heard very good things about it, but haven't been able to get to it yet, unfortunately.
For correspondences, things of a Venusian nature might work very nicely. :)
Other works of fiction that contain the concept of a metaverse;
Books
Anime and Manga
Film
----
I know I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of the genre, because if there's one thing humans are good at, it's writing fucktons on what we like.
So feel free to comment additions to this list, or opinions on what I've currently included. I have by no means read/watched all of these, so having someone with actual experience with each of these weigh in would be nice.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0781811910/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1397625371&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40
Beginner's Icelandic by Helga Hilmisdóttir Is a good resource. It comes with discs with examples of pronunciation. The pronunciation guide is written for Brits which it's only evident in one example. It gives a simple overview of the language.
Other than that I would say that pretty much everyone you will meet will speak English. Almost to the point of frustration if you are trying to learn icelandic.
I highly recommend it. It's not ony a great story, it also gives a really interesting glimpse into the beliefs and culture of the original composers as well as the Christian translators.
From what I have read the Seamus Heaney translation is the best.
https://www.amazon.com/Beowulf-New-Verse-Translation-Bilingual/dp/0393320979
> there's an empty space on the shelf.
Space for the upcoming Beren and Luthien!
https://www.amazon.com/The-Poetry-Home-Repair-Manual/dp/0803259786
Scope this out.
Nicely done. Puts me in mind of a book of Japanese death-poems, which was largely haiku based. (Link for those who wish: http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Death-Poems-Written-Monks/dp/0804831793/)
Can you order this in Germany?
No problem! If you're interested in learning more about Hinduism, I'd point you to Bhagavad Gita: The Beloved Lord's Secret Love Song by Dr. Graham Schweig. It's a translation of the Bhagavad Gita, a section of the Mahabharata, one of the main holy texts in Hinduism. There are also the Vedas, but those aren't nearly as widely read.
The Bhagavad Gita is the third most read holy text in the world behind the Bible and the Qur'an. It's only ~360 pages long, and this edition has an amazing amount of footnotes that explain the context and meanings of every verse. I firmly believe that it's the best translation out there.
The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry
I would give this a read if the opportunity presents. Some of the works contain harsh language but the quality is undeniable. My 12th LA teacher introduced me to this book years ago and I still give it a go-through now.
Try this book: http://www.amazon.com/Inanna-Queen-Heaven-Earth-Stories/dp/0060908548/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318607856&sr=8-1
Hi, I'm late. I really feel like you two are connecting with Inanna - she is a very ancient queen deity who has moon, snake, and wings imagery as well as being a very dark/light goddess. She rules over Heaven and Earth, is connected to the Morning/Evening Star, and is a fertility/sex goddess as well as a war goddess. She's not a mother goddess, though, not soft n squishy at all. I think you should maybe try to read this book and see what that does for y'all. Book link]
Plantinga is an old-school academic philosopher, so the best way to get familiar with his ideas is his published works (Amazon links below):
Plantinga is also on the editorial board of Faith and Philosophy, the journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers, and he's contributed several articles over the years. There are even more published articles written by his students and colleagues about his ideas.
ISBN-13: 978-0393320978 ISBN-10: 0393320979
Amazon link
You might want to look into Robert Hass's translations of haiku by Basho, Buson, and Issa.
A while back I watched this really interesting video on Han Shan’s life and work: https://youtu.be/R3OWTwGdGmo
Red Pine is in the video, who translated a lot of Han Shan’s poetry: The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain (Mandarin Chinese and English Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1556591403/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ilqhDb0P6T9BA
This translation by Alexis Lykiard is the one I have, it's very good.
https://www.amazon.com/Maldoror-Complete-Works-Comte-Lautr%C3%A9amont/dp/187897212X/ref=sr_1_11?keywords=le+chants+de+maldoror&qid=1562627249&s=gateway&sr=8-11
https://www.amazon.com/Pain-Authors-collection-literary-powerhouse-ebook/dp/B074SFN64R
My first try didn't seem to go through, so here's a second.
Amazon reviews are an okay place to start. A lot of people offer helpful comments. But, as you said, getting into thinkers that appeal to other audiences outside of just philosophers gets a bit sticky. I wouldn't be so quick to denounce or dismiss the religious aspect. Keep in mind if you want to read Augustine you'll be reading a religious thinker, so he has to be translated as such. For example, you could get a more technical translation of the Confessions, or you could find one operating more in the poetic spirit of Augustine, but regardless you're going to be reading a deeply religious text. Both are good translations, and both capture something of Augustine that the other probably misses. In the end, you have to ask yourself what you want more and what fits your purposes more. Also with regard to religious thinkers, it's important to try to read them on their own terms without having made up your mind before getting into the book. Allow yourself to agree with the thinker as much as you can--get inside their heads, travel with them, dwell with them. At the end, you can make a judgement, but give them a fair trial. This is also where translations can help. Some are simply more engaging, even if they're not "word-for-word" translations. A great example of this is Coleman Barks' "translations" of the poems of Muslim mystic Rumi. He actually completely fails (intentionally so) to translate Rumi word-for-word. Instead, he tries to write a poem in English that captures the language, feeling, and ideas of Rumi himself. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but it's a lot nicer than just reading a book of translated poems full of footnotes and technicalities. If I'm going to write a deeply researched paper on Rumi, perhaps I should find another translation, but if I want to really learn Rumi and try to gain from his knowledge, I might want to begin with Barks.
As for other reviews, you can often find them simply by Googling. For example, here's a review on Hannay's translation of a book by Kierkegaard that is done in a professional, scholarly way. I found it on the first page of Google searching "alastair hannay translation review."
It sounds like hard work, and it is, but it's worth it.
Also, if it makes you feel any better we used Penguin editions for many of my undergraduate classes as text books.
> (there never will be new canon in that universe again)
Think again!
Just throwing this out there because I'm super excited for it.
Its canonical status might be somewhat debatable, so take it how you will, but Christopher's compiled, novel version of Children of Húrin is pretty great!
Rumi! https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Rumi-New-Expanded/dp/0062509594
Unfortunately, I dont recall any names. They were all a part of this volume, however. http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Death-Poems-Written-Monks/dp/0804831793/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415892669&sr=8-1&keywords=japanese+death+poems
So the Prose Edda is also known as the 'Younger Edda'.
Though these two listings on Amazon UK/US only say Edda the reviews confirm that this is the Prose Edda.
As to what Edda means there's actually some uncertainty, Wikipedia discusses the theories on the word's meaning here in the Etymology section.
As to why the Prose Edda is named the Younger Edda I'm not too sure - I tried having a look at the Icelandic and Norwegian pages but they, just like the English page, only discuss the theories for the meaning of the word 'Edda'.
u/Just_Joey released the PDF for free (and the audiobook narrated by Colt Cabana) and a hardcopy on Amazon for $4.
https://soundcloud.com/user-857414650/pain-by-the-authors-of-pain-narrated-by-colt-cabana
http://supercolliderpress.com/ (free PDF)
https://www.amazon.com/Pain-Authors-collection-literary-powerhouse-ebook/dp/B074SFN64R
They did ! Or rather, they did publish a book (The Mouse in the Manor House), but it's not an anthology of their poems on reddit.
https://www.amazon.com/Beren-L%C3%BAthien-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/1328791823
Awesome! Here is the Amazon page!
Also, I haven't mentioned this, but the book is also a great read! The author doesn't deign to explain his complex ideas to the reader, instead you are left to work it out on your own, which makes the reading that much more enjoyable, especially the second read through when you can truly appreciate the intricacies of the writing.
Regarding Beowulf, it will very much change depending on which translation you read. I'm not familiar with all of them, so a good bet would be to check out previews of several and decide which, if any, you'd like to read. I think Seamus Heaney's translation is normally considered among the more accessible ones (and the Amazon page lets you "Look Inside").
I didn't think it read very heavily, but I've been reading similar texts since shortly after I learned to read--I'm probably not the best judge.
-----
If you read The Count of Monte Cristo, it would probably help to know that Dumas was definitely one of the masters of the slow burn. The book starts out slowly, but I know nobody who made it to the end and regretted the experience. Read the unabridged, if you can get your hands on it, and good luck!
It seems a little weird to want to buy books to try and discredit some random person online who will forget all about this conversation in a couple of days, but sure, whatever.
Nag Hammadi Scriptures
Dhammapada
Upanishads
Baghavad Gita
Mahabharata
And this volume of the Vedas, though as I said I haven't read through it yet.
I also have this copy of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, which I haven't gotten around to yet.
Now, once again, please tell me where in the Nag Hammadi scriptures it says that you spend 1000 years in a Devachan before reincarnating.
How about ordering a copy of his book The Mouse in the Manor House? I bought one for my niece for Christmas, can't wait for her to read it!
http://www.amazon.com/Mouse-Manor-House-other-poems/dp/1512307483/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1450215913&sr=1-1&keywords=mouse+manor+house
One can choose to write haiku with 5-7-5 syllables, but it's not at all necessary, and quite liberating to find out what words can do with less.
Coleman Barks' translations of Rumi, particularly "The Essential Rumi".
In the past, Jackson Crawford has recommended this translation by Anthony Faulks:
https://www.amazon.com/Edda-Everymans-Library-Snorri-Sturluson/dp/0460876163/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?keywords=prose+edda+anthony+faulkes&qid=1574252206&sprefix=prose+edda+an&sr=8-2
I haven’t read it yet so I can’t attest to it, but there it is.
Edit: If you haven’t gotten it yet, I can highly recommend Dr. Crawford’s translation of the Poetic Edda.
I can vouch for Lindow's book. That was the reference text we used in my Old Norse Literature class. If you want to go straight to the source as far as Norse mythology is concerned, I'd recommend Edda by Snorri Sturluson.
I've heard, though, that Edith Hamilton's book is quite controversial among academics. I enjoyed it a lot, but I'm no expert.
Hey, they really are great authors.
My favorite post-singularity fiction is the Golden Age trilogy by John C. Wright. Superintelligent AI, virtual reality, and mind uploading, and he still manages a deeply human tale of epic heroism. It's a little hard to get into for the first three or four chapters, but then it really takes off. I've read it three times.
Greg Egan's work is pretty interesting, eg. Permutation City, which is mainly about uploading etc.
For more of the near-future speculation side of Accelerando, Cory Doctorow writes a lot of good stuff. And there's Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom which is post-singularity.
Neal Stephenson's Diamond Age is pretty much a classic, covering nanotech, AI-based education, and all sorts of craziness. One of my favorites.
What? You haven’t read this? https://www.amazon.com/Pain-Authors-collection-literary-powerhouse-ebook/dp/B074SFN64R/ref=nodl_
Nonfiction: The Penguin Historical Atlas: Vikings http://www.amazon.com/Penguin-Historical-Atlas-Vikings-Hist/dp/0140513280
Fiction (but historical/realistic): The Saxon Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell - Book 1 is The Last Kingdom: http://www.amazon.com/Last-Kingdom-Saxon-Chronicles-Series/dp/0060887184
Also worthwhile:
Beowulf: http://www.amazon.com/Beowulf-New-Verse-Translation-Bilingual/dp/0393320979/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425795525&sr=1-1&keywords=beowulf
Sagas of the Icelanders: http://www.amazon.com/Sagas-Icelanders-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe/dp/0141000031/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425795544&sr=1-1&keywords=sagas+icelanders
GURPS Vikings (tabletop RPG): http://www.amazon.com/GURPS-Vikings-Roleplaying-World-Norsemen/dp/1556342012/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425795572&sr=1-1&keywords=Vikings+gurps
Vikings (comic): http://www.amazon.com/Viking-1-TPB-Ivan-Brandon/dp/1607061694/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425795563&sr=1-1&keywords=Vikings+comic
Enjoy!!
I have a Summer Reading List with a few books that are used for a penny. I like having a physical book. If you want a link I want a copy of Beowulf, but feel more than free to peruse the list and pick whatever
I love to read :)
If you want modern American Poerty I HIGHLY recommend this [book] (http://www.amazon.com/Outlaw-Bible-American-Poetry/dp/1560252278).
It covers so many of the best poems by many of the famous Contemporary Beat Poets. As well as incredible lesser known beat's like DA Levy, and Bob Wallace. Some of my favorites, are Richard Brautigan, Bukowski, Jack Micheline, Ray Bremser, Neal Cassady. There is even, an incredible poem by Jackson Pollock.
The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry is one of my favorites.
You should really plug your book at the end of every poem.
Just one line. Like this.
^^Also ^^I ^^wrote ^^a ^^book
PS - I just bought it BECAUSE I HAD NO IDEA YOU'D WRITTEN ONE. Can't wait. Your poem this weekend about "It's my turn dad", Wowzers.
This is the version I used in my Old Norse class. :)
I've run a certain Haiku exercise with great success. You may need to alter the exercise to make it more accessible for your non-native speakers, but maybe you can find a way to make some or all of it work:
Start with a brief, accessible description of Haikai no Renga. Have the students pass a piece of paper around and create their own version that captures the spirit of the exercise.
Next, give a brief history on Basho and the way he morphed Linked Verse into Haiku. Go over the subtle intricacies of traditional Haiku, everything beyond the simple syllabic rules--cutting (kiru), seasonal references (kigo), etc. Have the students create their own classical haikus.
Finally, using Haiku as a base, give the students some insight into the incredible formative power of translation. The introduction to Hass' Essential Haiku is a goldmine of eloquent insight.
A highly effective professor once had my class read different translations of Rilke's [Archiac Torso of Apollo] (https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/archaic-torso-apollo) and discuss the differences, something else you might want to try.
Good luck, hope this suggestion helps!
I have two anthologies you may enjoy: The Outlaw Bible of America Poetry, and New American Underground Poetry, Volume 1.
You can preview the first few chapters here: https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-Perennial-Classics/dp/0061142662/ref=reader_auth_dp
And if you decide to read it, I'd definitely go with Mitchell's translation. It's not the most accurate, but it's a really beautiful and poetic translation (and good for beginners).Just note that I disagree with u/midnighttoker3 about this being relevant to what you're looking for. I really don't think there's a fleshed-out notion of soul or reincarnation in Taoism, or at least in the Tao Te Ching. I'm sure you can find some proof-texts to challenge this claim, but there can be no denial that Hinduism and some forms of Buddhism are more soul- and reincarnation-heavy than Taoism.
https://www.amazon.de/Mouse-Manor-House-other-poems/dp/1512307483
I've read most of those and LOVED them. I'll just say you're looking for fictional "good books" and go from there. I recommend:
I don't really read poetry, in fact I only own one poetry book but it's by far the best I've ever read. Japanese death poems. In Japan there was a tradition among Samurai and Haiku poets to write a Haiku poem on their death bed. Some are poignant, some are even funny here's a few of my favourites.
Kashiku
Mount Fuji's meling snow
is the ink
with which I sign
my life's scroll,
"Yours sincerely."
-------------
Moriya Sen'an
Bury me when I die
beneath a wine barrel
in a tavern.
With luck
the cask will leak.
-------------
Dairin Soto
My whole life long I've sharpened my sword
And now, face to face with death
I unsheathe it, and lo-
The blade is broken-
Alas!
To fully understand them you need to read the introduction which takes up about a third of the book and is very interesting in itself. Highly recommended.
This one does.
They can discuss this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Pain-Authors-collection-literary-powerhouse-ebook/dp/B074SFN64R
Oh! I just snorted out loud. Didn't realize that was your poem. So, you should check out a book called The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry. That big book will show a beginner poet all the different things a poem can be.
Your "Graceful" poem struck me as creative and thought-provoking because it was sharp and... imagistic. The "Imaginary" poem struck me as a quick outline for something else because the images were lacking. Nonexistent. It had a lot of undeveloped ideas.
You know... the old telling vs. showing cliche? I need something to explode in this poem. I want something to burn the flesh off my hands. I want to taste your passion.
(Aside: Be sure to write for you, not for the upvotes.)
Anyway, I felt the need to comment again because I hadn't realized you were the same poet. Cheers!
If you believe your words are gospel, then just accept the feedback and move on with your life. If you want to start down the road of legitimately writing poetry that someone who actually reads poetry can appreciate, it's time to get to fucking work.
Of course, you think your "words" are special, but they aren't. This is the same thing every beginner churns out. It's cliché abstraction and it's not worth sharing with anyone. You can call it "poetry" and say it's your "art" and that poetry can't be "defined" -- whatever.
But anyone who actually reads poetry will recognize your "words" immediately for what they are and turn the page.
Read some poetry, man. Read some books about writing poetry and the tools poets use to craft their poems. If you need recommendations, I can give you some, but you'll have to do some fucking work. You might have missed the memo, but writing poetry is hard work.
***
Edit: Here some recommendations to get you started.
And if you insist on trying to use end rhymes:
And please, please pick up a good book of poems from multiple authors so you can get some exposure, such as the Norton Anthology of Poetry or the compilation Good Poems by Garrison Keillor. One of my favorites is A Book of Luminous Things by Czeslaw Milosz.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mahabharata-Penguin-Classics-J-Smith/dp/0140446818/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473701783&sr=8-1&keywords=mahabharata
Hey man, sorry for not getting back to you yesterday. Here are some recommendations.
https://www.amazon.com/Maldoror-Complete-Works-Comte-Lautréamont/dp/187897212X/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2UG7IORZO7MOG&keywords=maldoror+english&qid=1563734129&s=gateway&sprefix=malodor%2Caps%2C132&sr=8-3
​
https://www.amazon.com/Exploits-Opinions-Dr-Faustroll-Pataphysician/dp/1878972073/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3FIN94ANSVCSJ&keywords=exploits+and+opinions+of+dr.+faustroll%2C+pataphysician&qid=1563734228&s=gateway&sprefix=dr+faustroll+%2Caps%2C125&sr=8-1
​
https://www.amazon.com/Valerie-Week-Wonders-Vitezslav-Nezval/dp/808626419X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2MVWRWT2G7RYS&keywords=valerie+and+her+week+of+wonders+book&qid=1563734389&s=gateway&sprefix=valerie+and+her+wee%2Caps%2C126&sr=8-1
​
https://www.amazon.com/Mount-Analogue-Non-Euclidean-Symbolically-Mountaineering/dp/1585673420/ref=pd_rhf_dp_s_pd_crcd_0_20?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1585673420&pd_rd_r=885af56e-246c-4203-b69a-3ada3d549cad&pd_rd_w=nBgvG&pd_rd_wg=D0uLp&pf_rd_p=d17c2de0-cc1d-4b09-aad8-987099a21717&pf_rd_r=MPT3RGNB79T8MX0H41BF&psc=1&refRID=MPT3RGNB79T8MX0H41BF
​
the first two are not surrealism in the sense of the authors being part of the actual movement but they were precursors for it as well as being hugely influential to all who took part within the movement; the first one specifically, was said to be, by the surrealists themselves, their bible and holy grail. Surrealism can be quite difficult to read and hard to understand if one is not acquainted with the time period and the history of their epoch but if you stick with it it will pay off in time. You may have to do a little research into the back-stories of each author but this will only benefit you in the end: the last two will be much simpler to read on their own as they are more or less, linear straight-forward fictions. Good Luck!
https://www.amazon.com/Pain-Authors-collection-literary-powerhouse-ebook/dp/B074SFN64R
Because there are literally the authors of pain
For those that don't know about it, here is the Book of Pain by the AOP:
https://smile.amazon.com/Pain-Authors-collection-literary-powerhouse-ebook/dp/B074SFN64R/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1523325569&sr=1-1&keywords=Authors+of+Pain
It’s a fantastic read, by the way. The commentary is good if you’re into that sort of thing, but there’s also some other writing in their that’s a lot of fun.
Amazon link
I love reading up on the lore of LotR! Iirc, the new Beren and Luthien book just came out this week and I plan on getting it soon! Oh happy cakeday too!!
buy this book if you want some formal/academic opinion on inspiration/lyric writing etc.
There's a kickass compendium of outlaw American poesy, I wonder if there's something similar for Europe/other places as an introduction to more poets.
Just check Amazon and "look inside".
I have the Faulkes translation and it is a complete Edda.
I don't have the Hollander myself, but the table of contents looks complete.
Funny you say that...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074SFN64R/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_8J-MDb8K3ASNW
I would add the other two books in Plantinga's trilogy on Warrant as well.
Warrant: The Current Debate
Warrant and Proper Function
Also Whose Justice? Which Rationality? by Alasdair MacIntyre
I've heard that Charles Taylor is a must as well.
For a more 'Medieval Literature' folklore focus:
If you'd like actual fiction/novel recommendations, I'm happy to give those as well! Just say the word.
http://www.amazon.com/Best-Loved-Poems-Dover-Thrift-Editions/dp/0486285537/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1451260212&sr=8-5&keywords=classic+poetry can't beat the price.
I think Asian poetry should be your go to for this.
Chinese:
[Hanshan] (https://www.amazon.com/Collected-Mountain-Mandarin-Chinese-English/dp/1556591403/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481519439&sr=8-1&keywords=hanshan)
[Libai and Dufu] (https://www.amazon.com/Li-Po-Tu-Translated-Introduction/dp/0140442723/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1481519506&sr=8-3&keywords=li+po)
[Tao Yuanming] (https://www.amazon.com/Selected-Poems-Tao-Chien/dp/1556590563/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481519544&sr=8-1&keywords=Tao+qian)
and Japanese:
[Saigyo] (https://www.amazon.com/Saigyo/dp/023107493X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481519595&sr=8-1&keywords=Saigyo)
[Basho] (https://www.amazon.com/Narrow-Road-Interior-Writings-Shambhala/dp/1570627169/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1481519621&sr=8-3&keywords=Basho)
[Ryokan] (https://www.amazon.com/Dewdrops-Lotus-Leaf-Poems-Ryokan/dp/1590301080/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1481519642&sr=8-4&keywords=Ryokan)
Nimenoz, nice first attempt. You should read this if you're interested in the historical basis for haiku and why certain elements are included and other elements not included in traditional haiku. I guarantee your haiku writing will improve dramatically in a small amount of time.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Essential-Haiku-Versions-Basho/dp/0880013516
Here's a sneak peak: http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/g_l/haas/haiku.htm
All of the books you've mentioned would have to be read in translation which rather defeats the purpose of reading poetry.
If you really want to read a book that is a poem, I would suggest [Love, Dishonor, Marry, Cherish, Perish] (http://www.amazon.com/Love-Dishonor-Marry-Cherish-Perish/dp/038553521X), a contemporary novel written entirely in Iambic Pentameter. It's sad, funny, tender and very entertaining and it's a great book.
I would also urge you to consider reading some straight-up poetry because it's beautiful and because there is so much good poetry out there both contemporary and older.
You could start with something like the Dover Thrift Poetry Anthology which is slim and inexpensive and offers a good selection of English Language poetry up until the early 1900s. Or you could look at some more contemporary stuff which is great and I'd be happy to suggest something to you along those lines if you were interested.
JUVENAL and RUMI
Get this book this exact one. Read it forwards then backwards. It lead me down the path of accepting things and learning how to make myself happy.
http://www.amazon.com/Collected-Mountain-Mandarin-Chinese-English/dp/1556591403/
Sorry for your disappoint. However, you STILL might find some historical writing pretty fascinating. Try reading Inanna, Goddess of Heaven and Earth or Sumerians, might just be what you're looking for.
Everything you describe are the modern political movements of Wahhabism and Salfism, funded almost entirely by Saudi Arabia in an attempt to spread their influence throughout the Islamic world. The ideology they espouse is fascistic and repulsive, but it has very little connection to the actual history of Islam. In fact, they were founded on the premise of sweeping away Islam's history and starting over. One of the first things the Wahhabis did when they took Mecca: destroy the actual tomb of the Prophet.
The people burning people alive count for less than 1 percent of the 1.5 billion Muslims in the world. You cannot use the present to make assumptions about history, that's absurd. If you focus on the current state of Baghdad, and make the assumption that it's always been like that, you never learn about the fact that, for a few centuries, it was the richest city in the world and home to a flourishing intellectual culture that hosted people from as far away as China. You never learn about the Islamic golden age, or the libraries of Muslim Spain which collectively held millions of books while the royal library of Paris contained a grand total of 92.
You never learn a damn thing.
And as far as what it does that makes people's lives better? Including producing some of the best poetry ever, written, by humans, Islam has a long tradition of feeding and caring for the poor by paying out Zakat. The real world examples of this far outweigh any violence done in the name of religion.
People misquote Marx on this all the time when they say "religion is the opium of the masses." The full quote is: "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people"
By the way, Sprog is a guy named Sam Garland, and he did write a book that you can buy here
In the Ancient India section, you have the Bhagavad Gita, which is indeed very important and influential, but I'd replace that with the Mahabharata, of which the Bhagavad Gita is but a (very small) part.
I just read the entirety of the Penguin classics edition of it earlier this year and I was floored at how beautiful and moving it is. Totally worth it to have the whole epic there.
Happy happy cake day! And thanks for this contest! I had a lot of fun doing this!
20.It's cheap and it smells like heaven!
I actually emailed the son of the professor who first translated the Hinilawod into English (Dr F Landa Jocano). He said his father's estate was in the process of doing a second translation edition with side-by-side English and Kinaray-a which I assume will be like the copy of Beowulf I read in Junior English class. If that happens, I'll be ecstatic.
This is my go-to for Rumi if you're interested.
Aww that's really sweet that he seems to send you flowers a lot <3 It's always fun to open the door and find a nice bouquet waiting :D You should post a picture when they're all in bloom, I'm sure they'll be breathtaking!
A good friend of mine has read several editions and said Stephen Mitchell's version was by far the most readable.
Why would you ask a question about taxes without asking what those taxes pay for? They pay for the shit everyone needs.
As for learning the language, there are two decent books I can recommend: Colloquial Icelandic and Beginner's Icelandic. But nothing is going to save you from the fuckton of grammar you have to learn within the first 40 pages or so. Spend the extra on the companion CDs.
I got some great insight from a modern translation of Tao Te Ching.
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Icelandic-Two-Audio-CDs/dp/144410537X
https://www.amazon.com/Beginners-Icelandic-Audio-CDs-Hippocrene/dp/0781811910
https://www.amazon.com/Colloquial-Icelandic-Complete-Course-Beginners/dp/1138949736
https://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Icelandic-idiosyncrasies-delights/dp/993592985X/
It's my pleasure and I hope you enjoy it!
After that, if you haven't already, maybe you can check out Cold Mountain
One of the oldest writings in the world is a prayer to Inanna, written by a priestess named Enheduanna. Read more here.
Here is a big book of Inanna's stories and hymns.
Among other interesting things, Inanna might be the first dying-and-resurrecting Underworld traveler, setting the stage for everyone from Persephone to Christ. Read about her Descent into the Underworld.
For everyday little thoughts or things that my yoga teachers say around savasana I like
Or some "stylish" books like ...
There's also some documentaries like Enlighten Up which used to be streaming on Netflix for free. Not a GREAT documentary but good if you want to focus on the culture of yoga!
A bit OT (you might already know this, other readers might not), but Tolkien was so into Beowulf he penned his own translation: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0544442784?pc_redir=1412081864&amp;robot_redir=1
Thanks for your analysis. I definitely understand what you're saying about the subconscious/surreal element, and I guess I can see where you find a personal honesty in his films, but I don't know if I can agree that understanding Lynch's films can be a "very involving and rewarding process," simply because I haven't really enjoyed the physical process of watching his films.
Again, that's not to say they aren't good. I actually love works of art that are thematically similar. Sometimes shockingly so. If anyone here is a big fan of Eraserhead and is looking for something that's difficult to read, for example, check out the Comte de Lautréamont. There is one chapter in the Comte's most famous work where our (anti-)hero, Maldoror, while staying in a brothel, converses with an enormous hair follicle fallen from the scalp of God, which goes on to explain how its master enjoys coming down from on high to flay young male prostitutes alive. There is no discernible plot to the book, and the language is incredibly dense, but it is beautiful and dark and weird and grotesque. And, most importantly, so, so very difficult to understand. But worth it. As Lynch is, I'm sure.
I certainly plan on giving him more of his due down the road. Like I said, Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway are on my list of films I really ought to see. I would actually very much like to get David Lynch the way others do. To go back to a previous analogy, it's why I keep watching Steven Soderbergh films. I've wanted to catch that something that I've been missing in others' appreciations. With Soderbergh, I came to the conclusion that I simply do not like his filmmaking. (Please no one ask to explain that one.) I know I haven't given Lynch enough of a chance yet to say with finality that I won't some day "get it."
As it stands, though, I know Eraserhead is one of the more popular releases from Criterion this year, and I felt compelled to stand up for the few (Or is it just me? Just me? Okay. Just me.) who are not fans.
Thank you, I used to be able to write a lot better but it's faded with time. It's like I'm on a steam ship, first I burned the coal, then the furniture and now there's nothing left to burn.
This is my favorite poetry book, it gives an excellent history of haiku Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death I always have two copies of it, one to read and give away to someone that I think might like it and a second as a backup.
Staring off into
the distance I find myself
in this waking dream.
Sort of. :D
http://analogicalplanet.com/Pages/ContentPages/Sidebars/BurneyRelief.html
Innana, Ishtar, or Lilith, fine woman all the same. ;)
https://www.amazon.com/Inanna-Queen-Heaven-Earth-Stories/dp/0060908548
https://www.amazon.com/Hebrew-Goddess-3rd-Enlarged/dp/0814322719
https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Goddess-Evolution-Image/dp/0140192921
http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/descent-inanna-underworld-5500-year-old-literary-masterpiece-007296
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inanna
She's not quite yet forgotten by history. Transformed, twisted and turned, but always around in one form or another. One eras angel, anothers demon, and so it goes.
But the ones who strike down the malignant of those with the will to power.. Just shadows in the darkness. Eaters of tainted souls. Sometimes they get mixed up with various demon/devil myths.
The Erinyes live in Erebus and are more ancient deities than any of the Olympians. Their task is to hear complaints brought by mortals against the insolence of the young to the aged, of children to parents, of hosts to guests, and of householders or city councils to suppliants - and to punish such crimes by hounding culprits relentlessly. The Erinyes are crones and, depending upon authors, described as having snakes for hair, dog's heads, coal black bodies, bat's wings, and blood-shot eyes. In their hands they carry brass-studded scourges, and their victims die in torment
Colorful certainly, not always 100% accurate, but good campfire stories rarely are.
Take the ending of one particularly rotten pair of apples.
He says he promised the leader each day that he and his wife would be moved to Bucharest for a proper trial.
But his superiors had other plans. They hastily arranged a military trial at the base that was video-recorded.
The museum director says the day before, a Romanian official came from Bucharest and told his colleagues: "We'll do them here." Carstina says it proves the decision to execute the Ceausescus was made beforehand.
Kemenici was also bothered by the lack of any evidence during the trial. "The only thing on the table were the glasses of the chief judge," he says.
He adds that Ceausescu didn't believe he was getting due process either, calling it a conspiracy by Kemenici's superiors and other opponents. To this day, some Romanians still think the entire revolution was a planned coup d'etat, especially since many members of the communist regime became part of the new government.
"He didn't believe they were doing this on their own," Kemenici says. "He told me that the Americans and Russians got together to do this."
The trial, which began on Christmas Day, lasted less than an hour, Carstina says, adding that the chief military judge, Gica Popa, delivered the verdict after only minutes of deliberation.
He declared both Ceausescus guilty of genocide and sentenced them to death.
Video footage shows it wasn't until paratroopers assigned to carry out the execution arrived that the couple finally grasped what was about to happen.
Nicolae Ceausescu shouted: "I have the right to do what I want!"
His wife, Elena, struggled and cursed at the soldiers. She shouted: "Don't tie us up!" and "Don't offend us!"
They were hauled outside, lined up against a wall and shot dead by one of the paratroopers. Carstina says it happened before the camera could be turned on.
https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2014/12/24/369593135/25-years-after-death-a-dictator-still-casts-a-shadow-in-romania
Perhaps a bit rushed, but sometimes its best to hit the delete key rather than risk tainting things even further. Such is life. ;)