art & Creativity

I came across this presentation by Matthew Fox the other day for the very first time.

https://dailymeditationswithmatthewfox.org/2020/08/30/sufi-mystic-hafiz-on-art-and-creativity/

It’s about art and creativity, and featured some of my Hafiz poems-renderings from my Penguin publication— The Gift.

For any who do not know of Matthew Fox, there is a short bio included on him on the above link, at the end of it. He has been someone very important to thousands of people throughout the world for decades, especially those who might have been raised Catholic— and those who feel a wonderful connection to Jesus, as well as some of the great Christian mystics and other spiritual traditions as well. 

There is another poem of Hafiz I have published in The Gift, that too gets into Art and Creativity at the height of its ability-utility. It is the longest poem of Hafiz I have ever published, and is nearly 8 full pages. 

That poem is titled: “Cupping My Hands Like A Mountain Valley.” If you Google that title and then clink on a connecting link that mentions the Lama Foundation, you should be able to hear a few lines of that poem for free. That recitation is part of a CD titled, The Mountains Hint At Our Beauty, a poetry and music album that was made with the help of several wonderful people. And all proceeds from the sale of it go directly to the Lama Foundation, in Northern New Mexico. And it is the only recorded album I ever made in which I recite poetry. 

If you wanted to hear me read a whole poem on that CD, there is one titled, “Troubled.” And it might also be free. It is a very lovely Hafiz rendering, that shows, I feel, something of the tender lover and great friend, Hafiz has been to the world for nearly 700 years.