Poetry Chaikhana

Yunus Emre - "True speech is the fruit of not speaking." - with commentary by Ivan M. Granger. With this song, Yunus Emre gives us a sharply teasing reminder that even if we follow all of the rules of our religious tradition, that's not the same thing as achieving saintliness or holiness.

Akka Mahadevi - "You are the forest" - with commentary by Ivan M. Granger. I really like the image of God (in this case, Shiva) as a forest, as every tree in the forest, and simultaneously as the myriad of animals "playing in and out / of all the trees".

Mary Oliver - "Sunrise" - with commentary by Ivan M. Granger. Another way to enter fire today from Mary Oliver...

Abu-Said Abil-Kheir - "Love came" - with commentary by Ivan M. Granger.

Hakim Sanai - "Belief brings me close to You" - with commentary by Ivan M. Granger. Belief, devout religious practice will bring you close, but only so far... (And Ivan gets a little creative with his audio editing.)

Thomas Merton - "The Sowing of Meanings" - with commentary by Ivan M. Granger. An Easter poem for us today...

Paramahansa Yogananda - "God! God! God!" - with commentary by Ivan M. Granger.

Vladimir Solovyov - "All in azure today" - with commentary by Ivan M. Granger. Solovyov was a philosopher, poet, literary critic and a mystic with an intense connection to the Divine in the form of the feminine archetype of Sophia or Holy Wisdom.

Vidyapati - "All my inhibition left me in a flash," - with commentary by Ivan M. Granger. This is a beautiful example of how the soul can yearn for God with such a passion that it can be described in erotic terms.

A thought-provoking and inspiring conversation with John Fox, certified poetry therapist and author of Poetic Medicine, about the power of poetry to open us up to new possibilities in life, tap our own hidden wisdom, and communicate with others.