The Erotic Spirit: An Anthology of Poems of Sensuality, Love, and Longing

(Paperback)

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Poet-translator Sam Hamill celebrates the erotic spirit in all its forms, from the passion of sexual desire to the intense longing for spiritual union. This collection ranges from anonymous Egyptian love songs (circa 1500 BCE) via the Romans, Greeks, Persians, Jacobeans, Romantics and Decadents, up to moderns such as Adrienne Rich and Pablo Neruda. Many of the poems, from bawdy English ballads to Sufi songs of spiritual enchantment, are presented in new translations.

Reviews

"Hamill, poet and translator, has created a ravishing anthology of poetry celebrating the spiritual aspect of eros, the longing not only to merge one's body with another, but to join souls."Booklist

"From the swift grip and succor of today's Dorianne Laux to the flowers-in-a-shell plums of ancient Tzu Yeh, these are voices echoing off the walls of a cave, becoming one voice, one song of eros. I've seen no better collection."Lily Pond, editor of Yellow Silk: A Journal of the Erotic Arts

Author Bio

Sam Hamill is the author of more than thirty books of poetry, essays, and translations from the classical Chinese and Japanese, ancient Greek, Latin, and other languages. He has been a recipient of fellowships from the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, the Andrew Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission. He lives near Port Townsend, Washington.