Crafting Soul Into Words
A Poet Sings of the Journey
by
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Just what is poetry, and who writes it, and why do they write it, and did they always write it or is it something that develops gradually, and how do they go about it, and what are some of the frustrations, and if the frustrations are great what even greater rewards are sufficient to keep spurring them on, and who are they writing for, and where do their ideas come from, and what influence do other poets and writers have on them, and, after repeated rejections from publishers, what keeps them from chucking it all in favor of less unpredictable not to mention more remunerative undertakings?
The poems that follow, addressing in some manner all of these questions, are simply one individual’s attempt to discern and then to follow what feels to him a calling or, using Joseph Campbell’s word, his bliss. A “Dialogue with Events” section in Ira Progoff’s Intensive Journal Program provided me a fruitful place back in the late 1970’s to explore the significance in my life of becoming a psychotherapist. In Crafting Soul into Words I am in effect dialoguing with the evolving event in my life of becoming a poet.
This collection will likely speak most to other writers, actual or aspiring, who will be able to identify with writing’s steep and winding but exhilarating way. It may also appeal to those curious to know something of poetry’s allure, as well as something of what makes this particular poet tick. Who knows, it may even have the felicitous effect of giving to one seldom lifting a pen an extravagant notion. Each experiences the universe uniquely, each has a singular story to tell—the joy is in finding the words!
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About the Book
Just what is poetry, and who writes it, and why do they write it, and did they always write it or is it something that develops gradually, and how do they go about it, and what are some of the frustrations, and if the frustrations are great what even greater rewards are sufficient to keep spurring them on, and who are they writing for, and where do their ideas come from, and what influence do other poets and writers have on them, and, after repeated rejections from publishers, what keeps them from chucking it all in favor of less unpredictable not to mention more remunerative undertakings?
The poems that follow, addressing in some manner all of these questions, are simply one individual’s attempt to discern and then to follow what feels to him a calling or, using Joseph Campbell’s word, his bliss. A “Dialogue with Events” section in Ira Progoff’s Intensive Journal Program provided me a fruitful place back in the late 1970’s to explore the significance in my life of becoming a psychotherapist. In Crafting Soul into Words I am in effect dialoguing with the evolving event in my life of becoming a poet.
This collection will likely speak most to other writers, actual or aspiring, who will be able to identify with writing’s steep and winding but exhilarating way. It may also appeal to those curious to know something of poetry’s allure, as well as something of what makes this particular poet tick. Who knows, it may even have the felicitous effect of giving to one seldom lifting a pen an extravagant notion. Each experiences the universe uniquely, each has a singular story to tell—the joy is in finding the words!
About the Author
Finn spent ten years in the Society of Jesus after graduating from high school in
Among Finn’s writings is the internationally-known poem “Please Hear What I’m Not Saying.” His published works, which can be obtained through his website (www.poetrybycharlescfinn.com) or e-mail address (charlesfinn@ntelos.net), include the following:
Circle of Grace: In Praise of Months and Seasons
Natural Highs: An Invitation to Wonder
For the Mystically Inclined
Contemplatively Sweet: Slow-Down Poems to Ponder
Earthtalks: Conjectures on the Spirit Journey
The Elixir of Air: Unguessed Gifts of Addiction
Deep Joy, Steep Challenge: 365 Poems on Parenting
Earth Brother Jesus: Musings Free of Dogma
Embraced It Will Serve You: Encounters with Death
If a Child, Why Not a Cosmos? Lovesongs to Earth and Evolution
Fuel for War: Patriotic Entrancement
Earth Pleasures: Pets, Plants, Trees and Rain
Steppingstones to the Civil War: Slavery Integral to Each
Aging Liberal Nostalgic for Vision
Empathy is the Key: Toward a Civil War Healing
Gentle Warrior John Yungblut: Guide on the Mystic’s Journey
Full Heart Singing: Letters and Poems to a Girlchild
The Mastery of the Thing! Transcendence in Counseling and Sports
All of Finn’s writings relate to the spirit journey. His own has been grounded in Catholicism and nourished by Jesuit, Taoist, Native American, Creation-Centered, and Quaker spiritualities.