David Whyte Essentials

I first heard David Whyte on Sam Harris’ Waking Up app, and was taken aback at how beautifully he read his own writing. His poetry is beautifully inciteful about the human experience. Book arrived undamaged in a timely fashion.

It's strange how we stereotype things, even writing or literature. Poetry is often supposed to be one of those "soft" genres of writing, not on the intellectual level of the "serious" tomes spanning 100s of pages about politics or science or the topic of the day. This book reminds me of how wrong that mindset is. Poetry isn't just flowery language and fluff. It can be deeply intellectual, even difficult to register at first. It can challenge you to understand; find a new way of looking at and describing things in life that our modern "give it to me in a text or tweet" minds are no longer accustomed to. Poetry of the kind found in this book, I think, is more akin to formal philosophy or even psychology, than what one might traditionally expect. It's going to take me many re-readings and some real thought, to really understand what I'm seeing on the page. And I'm OK with that. I may not go right out and buy 3 more poetry books, but I'm glad I got this one. Something different and definitely recommended if you find your readings are always in the realm of the academic or pure fantasy.

David Whyte is an amazing poet. This is an excellent first book to discover his genius.

Very soulful

This book is small but filled with beautiful poetry. The strong binding and size make it easy to slip into my bag. Each poem is followed by a paragraph explaining his inspiration. I love his poetry and highly recommend this jewel.

I already knew that David Whyte is a good wordsmith, but something’s lacking for me. It’s sort of like an elusive shadow … you know it’s there, but can’t quite catch the focus of it.

I love David Whyte's poetry, and this book is great to take on a backpack trip to read around the camp at night. It takes up little room, and while it weighs very little, it's a guilty backpacking pleasure

How could a David Whyte book be anything other than 5 stars.

I am loving the words and format ! The book, however, carries an aroma that is very disturbing to my senses.

For me, so often, David Whyte expresses a thought, a concept an idea of some feeling in such a way that it lands in me with a thud, or maybe as lightly as a feather or as a gentle release and opening. I can feel thrill, oh my goodness, a sinking in or a gentle relief and gratitude as his words touch something deep within me that responds naturally and viscerally. I feel them land. I feel them touch me. I feel their effect. And it’s exquisite.

The book is quite slim and contains several short poems (except a couple that are longer). I've found some very deep and refreshing words. I think that with poetry, the experience can vary from reader to reader. Like any collection, some poems resonate more deeply than others. The true essence lies in the subjective interpretation of the words and the connection one feels with the author's emotional state during the creation of those verses. It's a journey that depends on personal perception, and each reader may find different gems within the pages. Overall, I enjoyed it, and it has made me want to read poetry books more often.

I only came across David Whyte recently on an Art of Manliness podcast (which is well worth a listen, man or woman). I love this little book and feel it only right to use some of the author's own words to review it ... "... a radical sense of letting ourselves alone, without even the most subtle, internal self-bullying or coercion ... you can fly and become free by being still and by being still here ... It is the man throwing away his shoes as if to enter heaven and finding himself astonished, opened at last, fallen in love with solid ground."

I write in the Forest and take this book along with me . The book cover feels good in my hands. That’s very important to me. The size is just right. It is thin and fits nicely into my small pack. There is a flap on the back of the front cover and back cover that act as book marks and I love that. Plenty of blank pages for me to write alongside this wonderful poet. I find David’s words inspirational. His poems help draw me down into my own poetic mind where I can hear the words that sit closest to my own heart. Mary Ann Burrows