The magic of social collaboration is when you become part of a conversation, then others bring their insights. After the last two posts, this has become poetry week (or so it seems).
Two Quick Reads
My last two posts discovered two further good reads on the power of poetry:
- A delightful post by Neil Usher (@workessence on Twitter) on the 10 reasons to use poetry in business
- Richard Martin (@indalogenesis) wrote a post An artist by any other name – a dissection of knowledge work, The Waste Land and its influences
Deeper Reading
For anyone who wants to dive deeper into this topic, I can recommend:
- the classic work by David Whyte ‘The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America’
- another masterpiece on creative work written with poets in mind, The Gift by Lewis Hyde
- for practical inspiration (& great mindsets for any business person) The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
- An argument for a wider impact of poetry: Can Poetry Matter? by Danny Gioia. Also available in a great book of essays
Action
Lastly, go to your favourite bookstore and buy a book of poetry. There is no better way to realise the power than to dip into the inspiration of a collection of great poems.
One book can make a difference. My journey into the power of poetry began when a good friend, Geoff Higgins, gave me a copy of Seamus Heaney’s The Haw Lantern. Geoff did me an enormous favour because great poetry is a passion that can sustain a life of creative work.
You could do worse than to decide to follow this practice by the wise Lois Kelly:
@simongterry I read a poem first thing every morning. My version of morning prayer.
— Lois Kelly (@LoisKelly)
