"The roots of poetry inevitably return us to music," Sam Hamill writes in "Listening in the Zen Tradition," one of two essays that make up the Listener's Guide to this new CD. "All poetry aspires to the condition of music. Poetry and music share a common root: Both begin in deep listening."
What is "deep listening," and what does "listening in the Zen tradition" mean? Is it that somehow the words and music bring us closer to the heart of inner stillness and peace, where we can truly be moved, a place where poetry can change our lives? Hamill thinks so.
How often do we stop to listen to poetry, to hear the music of words and the silence beyond them? How often do we let ourselves be changed?