Poetry for the Spirit

The search for spiritual truth and the deeper meaning of life is a cornerstone of every culture. It has found expression in many forms: myth, scripture, philosophy, even art. Among literary forms, it is poetry that embodies this quest most eloquently—through language rich in imagery and verbal music.


Spanning 4,000 years of world literature, Poetry for the Spirit gathers 600 poems by more than 250 poets. In addition to hundreds of masterworks in English, there are poems translated from such languages as Sanskrit, Egyptian, Hindi, Persian, Hebrew, Chinese, and Homeric Greek, including selections from the great epics and meditations: the Rig Veda, the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, and the Tao Te Ching. Among the great writers represented are ancient and medieval poets (Homer, Lu Yun, Dante, Rumi, Judah Halevi); metaphysical poets (Donne, Vaughan, Traherne); mystic and religious poets (Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, Herbert, Hopkins, Christina Rossetti); and visionary poets of a more secular bent (Blake, Shelley, Whitman, Dickinson, Yeats, Rilke, Stevens, and Ginsberg).


The range of themes is equally wide and varied. Some poems seek to understand the origin and nature of the universe; others hunger for a closer relationship to God, or express the rapture of experiencing such a relationship; some glimpse a higher order of reality behind daily existence; some yearn for spiritual transformation; still others are filled with wonder at the discovery of a luminous presence within the most humble of worldly objects.


Whatever path your journey may take, Poetry for the Spirit will open your mind and touch your heart.


About the Author

Alan Jacobs has been interested in mysticism and comparative religion since an early age, and has made an extensive study of the teachings of Gurdjieff and Krishnamurti. A poet himself, Mr.