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For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die.

By Anne Lamott
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Anne Lamott is an American teacher, speaker, and author of numerous novels and nonfiction books. Her writings and teachings cover subjects such as faith, Christianity, and sobriety.

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Almost Nothing, Yet Everything: A Stunning Japanese Illustrated Poem Celebrating Water and the Wonder of Life

“If you turn your back to the blues and deny your dependence on them,” Ellen Meloy wrote in her timeless meditation on water as a portal to transcendence, “you might lose your place in the world, your actions would become small, your soul disengaged.”

Article
Maria Popova
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Of Poetry and Protest: From Emmett Till to Trayvon Martin

This work illuminates today's Black experience through the voices of transformative and powerful African American poets. Included in this volume are the poems of 43 African American wordsmiths, including Pulitzer Prize-winning poets Rita Dove, Natasha Tretheway, Yusef Komunyakaa, and Tracy K. Smith.

Book
Phil Cushway (compiler), Michael Warr (editor)
2025
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05:39

The Art of the Metaphor - Jane Hirshfield

How do metaphors help us better understand the world? And, what makes a good metaphor? Explore these questions with writers like Langston Hughes and Carl Sandburg, who have mastered the art of bringing a scene or emotion to life. Lesson by Jane Hirshfield, animation by Ben Pearce

Video
Jane Hirshfield
2012
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Sherman Alexie: Plainspoken Inspiration

We recently spoke with Sherman Alexie by phone to hear his thoughts on inspiration, and the role it plays in his creative practice.

Article
Rebecca Gross, Sherman Alexie
2013
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Song of Myself, 51

This poem about discovery, change, and transformation contains Whitman's arguably most famous lines: “Do I contradict myself? / Very well then I contradict myself, / (I am large, I contain multitudes.)”

In respect of copyright, we cannot display the poem here. Click the link to read it.

Poem
Walt Whitman
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The Art of Losing: Poems of Grief and Healing

The Art of Losing offers a human connection when we are grieving. Editor Kevin Young has introduced and selected 150 devastatingly beautiful poems that embrace the pain and heartbreak of mourning.

Book
Kevin Young
2013
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39:45

Lucille Clifton & Sonia Sanchez: Mirrors & Windows

Clifton & Sanchez - Mirrors & Windows 10/24/2001 at The New School, New York, NY. Moderated by Eisa Davis.

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Lucille Clifton
2016
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14:16

What Does It Mean to Be Human? | Sonia Sanchez | TEDxPhiladelphia

In this captivating reading, legendary poet, activist and scholar Sonia Sanchez explores the most important question of the 21st century: What does it mean to be human?

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Sonia Sanchez
2014
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The Friendship Poems of Rumi

Translated by renowned Rumi expert Nader Khalili, over 120 poems on friendship from the Persian mystic poet and Sufi master have been carefully collected and curated in this beautifully illustrated edition.

Book
Rumi, Nader Knalili (translator)
2020
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Death and Dying