Leaning Toward the Poet
Eavesdropping on the Poetry of Everyday Life
by
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An ordinary moment like standing at a Xerox machine can become extraordinary, a familiar occasion like an exchange of words with a baker while buying a loaf of bread can become a doorway that awakens the poetic qualities of the world and restores a sense of wonder to our lives, while something as simple as having one’s morning coffee can release the miracle that hides in the mundane.
An excerpt from ‘Sitting with V in the Morning.’
It always starts the same way,with hot coffee, buttered toast, and the newspaper, bought every morning,
set out on the table.
I like these few moments of silence
before V joins me in the garden.
I like especially the cloudy mornings,
when the trees and flowers in the garden are still asleep,
their vibrant green still folded inside the darkness of the night,
and the birds are still at rest.
Now and then a hummingbird might hover over the Birds of Paradise
but its wings beat more slowly than usual,
as if it has not yet decided to be a hummingbird that day.
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About the Book
In Leaning toward the Poet: Eavesdropping on the Poetry of Everyday Life, Robert Romanyshyn writes in a poetic style about the splendor and simplicity of life. From the light on a summer morning to the appeal of an empty bench, he talks about the miracle of the mundane moments in life that are present, for example, in a spider’s web or a smile on the face of a stranger. In an age of information overload and diminishing time spent on the simple things in life, Leaning toward the Poet is an invitation to slow down and pause to attend to those occasions when memory and imagination lead one to unexpected occurrences that make us think about and appreciate what is happening around us.
A memoir written by a psychologist, Leaning Toward the Poet awakens us to the poetic qualities of everyday life. Its words and images feel like a homecoming.
Sitting with V in the Morning
It always starts the same way, with hot coffee, buttered toast, and the newspaper, bought every morning, set out on the table. I like these few moments of silence before V joins me in the garden. I like especially the cloudy mornings, when the trees and flowers in the garden are still asleep, their vibrant green still folded inside the darkness of the night, and the birds are still at rest…About the Author
Robert Romanyshyn is an Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute. For over forty years, he has lingered on the margins of psychology to explore the connections among psychology and the humanities. A sought-after speaker, he has lectured and given workshops in the U.S, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.