David Whyte Essentials

I am loving the words and format ! The book, however, carries an aroma that is very disturbing to my senses.

For me, so often, David Whyte expresses a thought, a concept an idea of some feeling in such a way that it lands in me with a thud, or maybe as lightly as a feather or as a gentle release and opening. I can feel thrill, oh my goodness, a sinking in or a gentle relief and gratitude as his words touch something deep within me that responds naturally and viscerally. I feel them land. I feel them touch me. I feel their effect. And it’s exquisite.

The book is quite slim and contains several short poems (except a couple that are longer). I've found some very deep and refreshing words. I think that with poetry, the experience can vary from reader to reader. Like any collection, some poems resonate more deeply than others. The true essence lies in the subjective interpretation of the words and the connection one feels with the author's emotional state during the creation of those verses. It's a journey that depends on personal perception, and each reader may find different gems within the pages. Overall, I enjoyed it, and it has made me want to read poetry books more often.

I only came across David Whyte recently on an Art of Manliness podcast (which is well worth a listen, man or woman). I love this little book and feel it only right to use some of the author's own words to review it ... "... a radical sense of letting ourselves alone, without even the most subtle, internal self-bullying or coercion ... you can fly and become free by being still and by being still here ... It is the man throwing away his shoes as if to enter heaven and finding himself astonished, opened at last, fallen in love with solid ground."

I first heard David Whyte on Sam Harris’ Waking Up app, and was taken aback at how beautifully he read his own writing. His poetry is beautifully inciteful about the human experience. Book arrived undamaged in a timely fashion.