The poetry of everyday life : storytelling and the art of awareness / Steve Zeitlin.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Kindred spirits : poetic souls -- Intimacy in language : poetry in family expressions -- Laughter for dessert : lightness of being -- The poetry of ping-pong : the art in sport -- Days of chess and backgammon : life's game board -- Inventing a language for love : sex as poetry and play -- Poetry on the porch : a time set aside -- All my trials : the healing powers of poems and tales -- The AIDS poets : living with dying -- Did you see the ashes come gently falling down : September 11 street poems -- The poemobile dreams of peace : writing with light -- Free market flavor : poetry of the palate -- The poetry in science : metaphors explaining mysteries -- Navigating transitions : poetry in rites of passage -- The human unit of time : the space between memory and legacy -- Your body as symbol : written in ash -- Intimations of immortality : the artist's secular sphere of spirituality -- God is in the details : your ur poem -- Place moments : writing about place in time -- Breath on the mirror : finding your own voice -- The best stories versus my story : shepherding the word into the world -- The grease lamp's flicker and flare : dark caves illuminate -- Lion's gate : myths as metaphors -- Rock and word : building a dry stone wall as a lesson in poetry.

Print version record.

This is a book of encounters. Part memoir, part essay, and partly a guide to maximizing your capacity for fulfillment and expression, The Poetry of Everyday Life taps into the artistic side of what we often take for granted: the stories we tell, the people we love, the metaphors used by scientists, even our sex lives. A folklorist, writer, and cultural activist, Steve Zeitlin explores how poems serve us in daily life and how they are used in times of personal and national crisis. In the first book to bring together the perspectives of folklore and creative writing, Zeitlin explores meaning and experience, covering topics ranging from poetry in the life cycle to the contemporary uses of ancient myths."This convergence of poetry and folklore," he suggests, "gives birth to something new: a new way of seeing ourselves, and a new way of being in the world." Written with humor and insight, the book introduces readers to the many eccentric and visionary characters Zeitlin has met in his career as a folklorist. Covering topics from Ping-Pong to cave paintings, from family poetry nights to delectable dishes at his favorite ethnic restaurants, The Poetry of Everyday Life will inspire readers to expand their consciousness of the beauty that resides in everyday things and to use creative expression to engage and animate that beauty toward living a more fulfilling awakened life, full of laughter. To live a creative life is the best way to engage with the beauty of the everyday.

In English.

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