John Leonard

The Way of Poetry John Leonard First Three Pines edition

Well-known poet John Leonard in his new book makes a strong plea that Daoism is more relevant now than it has ever been, living as we do in a world society whose demands amount to 150 percent of the Earth's ecological capacity. In this world, poetry inspired by the Dao can be a prime way of bringing the Way into contemporary consciousness. The Way of Poetry, then, is a concise, potent essay that presents a first comprehensive theory of what "Daoist" poetry might involve. Beginning with the vision of the ancient classics and informed by Daoist practice, John Leonard searches through poetry from different cultures to find a class of putatively Daoist poetry outside the Chinese tradition. He then suggests ways to recognize its following of the Way and outlines basic principles and guidelines, also including a number of his own poems.