Author Archives: shmoover

Part two: The West Yoel Hoffman, editor of Japanese Death Poems, observes that jisei poetry arose out of a culture of extreme conformism: Death poems reveal that before death, the Japanese tend rather to break the restraints of politeness that … Continue reading →

Part One: The Far East How do we want to be remembered? Death poems (jisei) developed in the literary traditions of Japan as early as the seventh century. Later, taking much energy from Zen Buddhism’s emphasis on the transiency and … Continue reading →

Part Four Turn this wall on its side and it becomes a bridge! – Graffiti on the Mexican side of the U.S. border wall Mythopoetic men’s conferences have evolved effective conflict rituals that encourage men to engage with each other … Continue reading →

Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them. – Albert Einstein These days there is much talk about de-colonizing our minds – interrogating ourselves about the unconscious biases, racist opinions, classist ideas, colonialist language (and, … Continue reading →

You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. – Jack London No man has a right to raise a hand to a woman in anger…So we have to just change the culture. Period. And … Continue reading →

Part One Military madness was killing my country. Solitary sadness comes over me. – Graham Nash Imagination is not a solitary thing. Unlike fantasy, which is self-centered, imagination implies dialogue – between what is and what could be. Consider that … Continue reading →

What shall I send you, dear one, There in the underworld? If I send you an apple, it will rot, If a quince, it will shrivel; If I send grapes, they will fall away, If a rose, it will droop. … Continue reading →