Writing as Spiritual Practice - recommended reads Part 1

We are really excited to have Matt West hosting a series of workshops here at October Books on the theme of Writing as Spiritual Practice (sign up here). Matt has recommended a few reads for the course, not all compulsory but more suggested background and we want to share some of these with you.

The first recommendation is Devotions by Mary Oliver, a curated collection of her works from over 50 years of writing. Her writing expounds her love for the physical world and the powerful bonds between all living things and this collection is a great introduction to all her work.

The next recommendation are poems from a classic poet in Rumi’s The Unseen Poems. This book is a treasury of poems which have never been translated before, researched and translated by Rumi biographer Brad Gooch and the Iranian writer Maryam Mortaz.

Matt also recommends Robin Waller-Kimmerer’s Braiding sweetgrass, a book that has already been a top seller in the shop. Full of native wisdom, told through the stories of Robin’s life, this book is a wonderful interweaving of myth and science.

The last in this first set of recommended reads is Active Hope by Joanna Macey. The sub-heading of the title of this book says it all ‘How to Face the Mess We're in with Unexpected Resilience and Creative Power’, Joanna is inspiring and engaging in equal measure.

We hope you enjoy and do sign up for the Writing as Spiritual Practice course here.