Halfway To Silence

DIVDIVA striking collection of short poems from acclaimed writer May Sarton/divDIV After decades of writing flowing lyric verse, May Sarton’s style turned to short bursts of poetry. Likening poetry to gardening, she writes, “Muse, pour strength into my pruning wrist / That I may cut the way toward open space.” These condensed poems are rife with exuberant impressions of nature and of love. Included are two of Sarton’s most acclaimed poems, “Old Lovers at the Ballet” and “Of the Muse.”/div/div

Pure lyric poems come rarely in any poet's life. When they do, the must be treasured as gifts from the White Goddess, "sister of the mirage and echo." To May Sarton, poetry was life's deepest creative passion. It reflected the preoccupations of her mind and emotions as she progressed through more than five decades of experiencing the natural world, love and friendship, and the crises of the times. But for a long while she felt the lyric mood was past. Then, abruptly, her life took a new turn, and a marvelously musical flow of short poems came from her pen. They are collected here, in this small volume.

With increasing candor and openness May Sarton's conversations have given an intimate view of her honest, courageous inner life. Best known to her many readers as a novelist and keeper of journals, Sarton sees herself pre-eminently as a poet. In the interviews collected here she speaks forthrightly about herself, her independence, and her writing. Although born in Belgium, Sarton is quintessentially American in her choice of solitude on which her personal well-being and writing depend. She is a modernist who has defined herself as an artist, with the occasionally painful recognition that all else must finally be subordinated to her writing. Her journal After the Stroke makes clear that when she cannot write she stands on the edge of the abyss of nonbeing. These interviews offer Sarton's readers the model of a woman who has supported herself as a writer of achievement, who has made her way without the comforts of academic tenure, grants, or bestseller listings.

Here is an invitation to experience God in the prayerful moments of silent meditation. Sounding the Silence guides our prayer so that we can escape the chaos and distractions that life sometimes gives us and just sit, in "silence," with God. Inspired by the Carthusian tradition of silent prayer, Skinner offers simple models of praying that are both inviting and safe, proving that anyone can pray and that no prayer is the same. It provides weekly readings based on a simple half hour of stillness and threaded together to provide a year long exploration of silence. The book can be used individually or by Catholic and ecumenical prayer groups, RCIA team members, worship team members, and parish or diocesan staff members.

What is the state of that which is not spoken? This book presents empirical research related to the phenomenon of reticence in the second language classroom, connecting current knowledge and theoretical debates in language learning and acquisition. Why do language learners remain silent or exhibit reticence? In what ways can silence in the language learning classroom be justified? To what extent should learners employ or modify silence? Do quiet learners work more effectively with quiet or verbal learners? Looking at evidence from Australia, China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, the book presents research data on many internal and external forces that influence the silent mode of learning in contemporary education. This work gives the reader a chance to reflect more profoundly on cultural ways of learning languages.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER "Unlearning Silence is the book I wish I had when I started my career….This book is going to change the workplace for the better."—Pooja Lakshmin MD, psychiatrist & best-selling author of Real Self-Care “A necessary read…Unlearning Silence offers an opportunity and tools to change things within and around us – for ourselves and those we love.” —Lori Gottlieb, New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone A paradigm-shifting book looking at the pervasive influence of silence and how we can begin to dismantle it in order to find our voices at home and at work Having a seat at the table doesn’t mean that your voice is actually welcome. Knowing something is wrong doesn't mean it's easy to speak up. In fact, there are incentives for many of us to stay silent. Why speak up if you know that it won’t be received well, and in fact, often makes things worse? In Unlearning Silence, Hering explores how we’ve learned to be silent, how we’ve benefited from silence, how we’ve silenced other people—and how we might choose another way. She teaches how to recognize and unlearn unconscious patterns so we can make more intentional choices about how we want to show up at home and at work. Only by unlearning silence can we more fully unleash talent, speak our minds, and be more complete versions of ourselves… and help other people do the same. With compassion, clarity, and understanding, Hering guides readers through real-life examples and offers a concrete road map for doing this vital and challenging work.