The Wonder Paradox: Embracing the Weirdness of Existence and the Poetry of Our Lives

by Jennifer Michael Hecht Narrated by Gail Shalan

Overview

Religion once formed the rhythms and structures of society: marking time with calendars, carving out space for contemplation, creating connection, reinforcing legacy and morality. Now, for many, religion no longer runs the show. So where shall we find our magic? How do we celebrate milestones? Which texts can focus our attention but still offer space for inquiry, communion, and the chance to dwell for a dazzling instant in what can't be said? The answer, Jennifer Michael Hecht?the historian, poet, and bestselling author of Doubt?tells us, is poetry. In twenty chapters built from years of questions and conversation with those looking for an authentic and meaningful life, Hecht offers ways to excavate the useful aspects of tradition and to replace what no longer feels true. Through cultures and poetic wisdom from around the world?Sappho, Rumi, Shakespeare, Issa, Tagore, Frost, Szymborska, Angelou, and others?she blends literary criticism with spiritual guidance rooted in the everyday. Linking our needs to particular poems, she helps us better understand those needs, ourselves, and poetry. Our capacity for wonder is one of the greatest joys of being human; The Wonder Paradox celebrates that instinct and that yearning. Like Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way and Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird, it promises to inspire generations.

Editorial Reviews

APRIL 2023 - AudioFile

In this audiobook Jennifer Michael Hecht proposes that poetry can become a personal ritual for many of life's important moments, particularly for those who find no solace in organized religion. For each moment for which religion or community offers consolation or commemoration, Hecht suggests a poem and a way of choosing and using a poem of the listener's selection. Gail Shalan's narration is clear and evocative, mostly quite good--although marred by a sprinkling of egregious mispronunciations. Those less obsessive about language may not mind. The work builds largely on the author's personal experiences, and Shalan brings those vividly to life--particularly an episode involving the oddest of couples, Dolly Parton and Fran Lebowitz. D.M.H. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

12/19/2022

Poet and historian Hecht (Doubt) designs a liturgy for a disenchanted world in this insightful outing. Noting that many who happily “live outside religion” still yearn for its sense of meaning, Hecht suggests “a shift in the way we think about ritual and the poetry of our lives”—specifically a recognition of their ability to fulfill some of humans’ deepest needs. In chapters on daily practices (decisions, sleep), holidays (sabbaths, earth days), and life celebrations (weddings, funerals), Hecht shows how poetry can mark a moment, unpacking a central poem for each and suggesting accordant rituals. The “Eating” chapter offers ideas for a “private prayer over food” and analyzes Li-Young Lee poem, “Blossoms,” and its “succulent/peaches we devour, dusty skin and all” (for which Hecht suggests eating is “a longing to hold what we have lost... to not let the peaches pass by”). Elsewhere, Hecht invokes Inger Christensen on gratitude and Wislawa Szymborska on holidays. Drawing on an admirable array of poets (many not Western), Hecht synthesizes artistic and spiritual insight in astute but not stuffy ways, and welcomes readers unsure where to start: “If you are looking for a... poem, but nothing rustles your chimes, pick some anyway and will grow on you.” This impresses. (Mar.)

From the Publisher

Outstanding . . . Hecht offers her hard-won musings on the sacredness of daily life, the miracle of slowing down and noticing, and the nourishment of communal experience.”
—Elizabeth Gonzalez James, The Rumpus

“Sui generis . . . [A book of] insightful sweeping grandeur.”
—George Yatchisin, California Review of Books

“Hecht offers ways to excavate the useful aspects of tradition and to replace what no longer feels true . . . She helps us better understand [our] needs, ourselves, and poetry.”
—Panio Gianopoulos, The Next Big Idea Club

“Thought-provoking and intriguing, [The Wonder Paradox] will appeal to avid readers of Elizabeth Gilbert, Julia Cameron, [and] Anne Lamott. . . [An] inspirational invitation to reconsider the role of poetry in life.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Hecht writes about how those who haven’t found a home in religion can still find magic in the world, seeking meaning in culture and in literature.”
—Michael Schaub, The Orange County Register

“[Jennifer Michael Hecht] designs a liturgy for a disenchanted world . . . Drawing on an admirable array of poets (many not Western), Hecht synthesizes artistic and spiritual insight in astute but not stuffy ways, and welcomes readers unsure where to start.”
—Publishers Weekly

“[The Wonder Paradox] delights . . . Warmth and enthusiasm suffuse Hecht’s enchanting prose, which make this book a moving, hopeful read.”
—Zachariah Motts, Library Journal (starred review)

“The Wonder Paradox is part practical, inspiring guide to meaning and connection, part love letter to poetry and the role it can play in our lives. Every page sings with beautiful sentences I couldn’t help but underline. At the core of this book is something deeply true: poetry is for everyone. The Wonder Paradox is a book I’ll gift to friends and family—to everyone—for years to come.”
—Maggie Smith, author of You Could Make This Place Beautiful

“The Wonder Paradox leads its readers into the open space between the extremes of atheism and religious belief; here, spiritual insights that lie hidden in daily experience are released through secular rituals and the practice of poetry. In her lively, useful exploration of this middle zone, Jennifer Michael Hecht offers us a wakeful perspective, both timeless and germane to our times.”
—Billy Collins, poet laureate of the United States and author of Whale Day

“The Wonder Paradox takes the reader by the hand and patiently, gently, and with great care introduces us to the delights, joys, and wisdom of poetry. If Jennifer Michael Hecht is starting a movement—sign me up! Finally, here is a party worth joining.”
—Ilya Kaminsky, author of Deaf Republic and Dancing in Odessa

“I was immediately trapped by and then happily and gratefully in the thrall of a writer who shares my world and makes it brighter. The Wonder Paradox makes us better and smarter by assuming we already are. This is a rare heart.”
—Roger Rosenblatt, author of Making Toast

“The Wonder Paradox is such a brilliant, generous, funny, helpful book. Jennifer Michael Hecht knows just what to say to guide us through our modern confusions. I’ve never read anything like it, and I want to give it to every friend I know.”
—Matthew Zapruder, author of Story of a Poem

“A journey into The Wonder Paradox will reawaken not only your poetic imagination and search for timeless truths about existence, but also your very capacity for that most human of tendencies: wondering about the meaning of life. Reading Jennifer Michael Hecht’s tour of wonder will stir your soul.”
—Dacher Keltner, author of Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life

Library Journal

★ 12/01/2022

A nonreligious liturgy and an education in world poetry, historian/poet Hecht's (Who Said) book is needed, and it delights and succeeds on multiple levels too. Hecht offers constructive hints and possibilities for post-religious directions. There is an openness and sociological savvy to her approach to investigate traditions and the positives of what religion has brought to the conversation, but she also critiques beliefs that are damaging, such as using religion to justify bigotry, superiority complexes, and hatred of others. The book's primary focus is on the power of poetry to frame and support one's lived experiences. Each chapter gives space for poems from around the world that range in topics from birth to death, and it's accompanied by insightful interpretation. VERDICT Warmth and enthusiasm suffuse Hecht's enchanting prose, which make this book a moving, hopeful read.—Zachariah Motts

APRIL 2023 - AudioFile

In this audiobook Jennifer Michael Hecht proposes that poetry can become a personal ritual for many of life's important moments, particularly for those who find no solace in organized religion. For each moment for which religion or community offers consolation or commemoration, Hecht suggests a poem and a way of choosing and using a poem of the listener's selection. Gail Shalan's narration is clear and evocative, mostly quite good--although marred by a sprinkling of egregious mispronunciations. Those less obsessive about language may not mind. The work builds largely on the author's personal experiences, and Shalan brings those vividly to life--particularly an episode involving the oddest of couples, Dolly Parton and Fran Lebowitz. D.M.H. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2022-12-21
A guide to finding meaning and connection through poetry.

Poet and historian Hecht, author of Doubt and The Happiness Myth, launches an ambitious investigation into how spiritually inclined nonbelievers seeking a meaningful alternative to organized religion’s dogma can find it in poetry. “Many of us who are happy to live outside religion still suffer from a lack of things religion gives its members,” writes the author. “It seems to me the remedy to this suffering is a shift in the way we think about ritual and the poetry of our lives.” In laying out the possibilities, she writes, “I want to tempt you to compile a clutch of poems for holidays, events, practices, and emergencies. I’ll show you how to gather and get to know them, how to take them into your daily life and your heart.” Throughout 20 thematically focused chapters—e.g., “On Decisions,” “On Weddings,” “On Coming-of-Age”—Hecht shares anecdotal stories from a wide variety of individuals. As each reflects on their specific struggles or dissatisfaction, the author offers a particular poem as a balm. Though somewhat random, Hecht’s poetry selection is expansive, ranging across centuries and cultures. Among the dozens of poets she enlists are Rumi, Rilke, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Frost, Pablo Neruda, Maya Angelou, and Joy Harjo. Hecht’s premise is thought-provoking and intriguing, and the book will appeal to avid readers of Elizabeth Gilbert, Julia Cameron, Anne Lamott, and similar authors. However, Hecht’s writing often lacks those writers’ grounded, open-hearted clarity, and the text, though studded with insightful commentary, often wavers unevenly between conversational guidance and abstruse rumination. “I think if we want to know ourselves and the world we are floating in, we have to risk swimming out past the breaking waves,” she writes. “It’s deep out there, but to switch metaphors, the task is not to solve anything, but to find out what happens when we try to live the questions.”

For spiritual seekers, a loosely inspirational invitation to reconsider the role of poetry in life.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940176981193
Publisher:	Dreamscape Media
Publication date:	03/07/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged

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