{"product_id":"love-and-the-turning-seasons-indias-poetry-of-spiritual-erotic-longing-paperback","title":"Love and the Turning Seasons: India's Poetry of Spiritual \u0026 Erotic Longing - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eAndrew Schelling\u003c\/b\u003e (Editor)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor thousands of years, India has excelled at erotic love poetry, and the genius of its devotional poetry often harnesses great energy and mystical insight. It is in fact often hard to tell whether the poets are offering poems of spiritual longing using the garment of love poetry, or writing erotic poems in the guise of devotion. Perhaps, in a country where erotic sculpture routinely ornaments its many temples and the gods are known for their explosive sexuality, this question has little meaning to these remarkable writers. In their devotional traditions, eroticism and mysticism seem inseparable. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis wonderful selection spans 2,500 years, and includes work originally sung or recited by their well-known bards: Kabir, Mirabai, Lal Ded, Vidyapati and Tagore. There are also poems from the Upanishad, from ancient Sanskrit poetry and Punjab folk lyrics. The poets have largely emerged from the ranks of the dispossessed: leather workers, refuse collectors, maidservants, women, \u0026amp; orphans. Their vision is of a democratic society in which all voices count, much like American gospel and blues, Shaker songs, or the grand vision of Walt Whitman. Often they faced persecution for speaking candidly, or daring to speak of spiritual matters at all. The notes include profiles of these legendary lives. Several of these poets simply vanished, absorbed into a deity, or disappeared in a flash of purple lightening. A few produced miracles--most of them have clouds of mystery around them. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAndrew Schelling has drawn on the work of 24 other translators, including Ezra Pound, Robert Bly, W. S. Merwin, Jane Hirschfield and Denise Levertov, to build what will be the finest anthology of India's erotic and spiritual poetry for the general read ever assembled.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003ePoet and translator, \u003cb\u003eAndrew Schelling\u003c\/b\u003e has written or edited twenty books. For more than twenty years he has been on the faculty of Naropa University's Jack Kerouac School, and he also teaches at Deer Park Institute, in Himachal Pradesh, India.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 302\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.7 x 8.2 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 11, 2017\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53086439997747,"sku":"9781619024717","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0300\/5595\/6612\/files\/HZDA0B0nfN9781619024717.webp?v=1772054792","url":"https:\/\/www.vysn.com\/products\/love-and-the-turning-seasons-indias-poetry-of-spiritual-erotic-longing-paperback","provider":"VYSN","version":"1.0","type":"link"}