![]() The most poignant (for me) segment of the book is "Companion," a series of six poems that deal with the death of a friend, the weight and heft of that experience, and all the accompanying feelings in the immediate presence of the departed one and in afterward reflections on the relationship and its loss. There's a tension between familiarity and adventure that the poet acknowledges. ![]() Its various sections cover the actual pilgrim wending his way over terrain to a sacred site (Pilgrim), a specific pilgrimage (Camino), and the things we encounter and realize by venturing beyond our safe space into the wider world (Looking Back), a task that requires courage and acceptance of change, when something within wants to be "Born Again" exactly the same way. In a sense, we are all on this journey, "walking each other home," as Ram Dass has observed. Whyte's book is more abstract on the idea of the pilgrim. David Downie's Paris to the Pyrenees: A Skeptic Pilgrim Walks the Way of Saint James and Phil Cousineau's The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker's Guide to Making Travel Sacred) and always found value in them, and of course, there's that lovely line by Yeats, "but one man loved the pilgrim soul in you." I've read other books that focus on the notion of pilgrimage and the nature of the pilgrim (e.g. ![]() ![]() I was drawn to this book by its title: Pilgrim. I've also read quite a few years ago, The Heart Aroused, when I was looking for poetry and soul within work. I've long admired David Whyte, primarily through reading his poems in other works. On my 2nd reading of this collection, I really connected with the poem Second Life: One of my favorites in this book is titled "Winter Apple" Wow! I'm in love with his style and imagery. Just finished a second volume of David Whyte's poetry. He brings a unique and important contribution to our understanding of the nature of individual and organizational change, particularly through his unique perspectives on Conversational Leadership. In organizational settings, using poetry and thoughtful commentary, he illustrates how we can foster qualities of courage and engagement qualities needed if we are to respond to today’s call for increased creativity and adaptability in the workplace. In spring of 2008 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Neumann College, Pennsylvania. His life as a poet has created a readership and listenership in three normally mutually exclusive areas: the literate world of readings that most poets inhabit, the psychological and theological worlds of philosophical enquiry and the world of vocation, work and organizational leadership.Īn Associate Fellow at Said Business School at the University of Oxford, he is one of the few poets to take his perspectives on creativity into the field of organizational development, where he works with many European, American and international companies. He brings this wealth of experience to his poetry, lectures and workshops. The author of seven books of poetry and three books of prose, David Whyte holds a degree in Marine Zoology and has traveled extensively, including living and working as a naturalist guide in the Galapagos Islands and leading anthropological and natural history expeditions in the Andes, Amazon and Himalaya. He now makes his home in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Poet David Whyte grew up with a strong, imaginative influence from his Irish mother among the hills and valleys of his father’s Yorkshire.
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