| Title | : | River of Light: A Conversation with Kabir (The Alaska Literary Series) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 160223227X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781602232273 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 68 |
| Publication | : | First published February 15, 2014 |
River of A Conversation with Kabir is centered in one man’s meditations and revelations while traveling on a river. John Morgan spent a week traveling the Copper River in Southcentral Alaska, and the resulting encounters form the heart of this book-length poem. The river’s shifting landscape enriches the poem’s meditative mood while currents shape the poem and the pacing of its lines. The mystic poet Kabir is Morgan’s internal guide and serves as a divine foil through quiet stretches that bring to mind questions about war and human nature. Artwork by distinguished Alaska artist Kesler Woodward is a sublime companion to the text.
A combination of adventurer’s tale and spiritual quest, River of A Conversation with Kabir takes the reader on a soulful journey that is both deeply personal and profoundly universal.
River of Light: A Conversation with Kabir (The Alaska Literary Series) Reviews
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First, I'm super upset (not really) that John Morgan wrote about this trip before I had a chance to write about mine! Brilliant.
I loved the coupling (tripling?) of art and poetry from two different sources. To me, the moments of Kabir's writing came quite organically and acted like a psalm or proverb infusing Morgan's poetry with the comfort of a spiritual guidance. It's a credit to Morgan that he was able to combine Kabir's work into his own so seamlessly that it was natural and not forced. Not exactly sure what to expect when I received the book in the mail, I started expecting long poems on the glories of nature or something to that effect. What I found were poems that were a crash of connections: poetry, the natural world, the war. This infusion of real world realities such as the war into the poems really captured for me one of my own favorite things about being on the river: the chance for reflection, particularly on heavy topics such as current events, politics, etc. (or just reflection in general) without interruption from headlines and text messages from friends--the chance for a comparison between the natural world and the reality we create for ourselves. Beautifully done, Mr. Morgan.
Also, I don't know much about art, but my favorite piece displayed in the book was probably the raven.
