On Being, Poets, and Irish Writers

I recently listened to an episode of a podcast called On Being, a discussion of the "animating questions at the center of human life" led by Krista Tippett, a Peabody Award-winner.  This episode in particular struck me because in it she interviewed John O'Donohue, an Irish poet who passed way suddenly in 2008, and the opener was so stunning, and so moving, I knew I had to listen to the whole thing.

There are many poets that I love, but there's something to me about Irish writers, equalled only by the Russians, that captures the human spirit - the suffering as well as the beauty.  O'Donohue's writing is no exception.  Below is a recording from the podcast of O'Donohue reading one of his poems, called Beannacht, from his collection Anam Cara.

If you're interested in listening to the whole podcast, you can do so on the OnBeing website or on iTunes (the episode is titled: John O'Donohue: The Inner Landscape of Beauty).  If you're looking for more, find his collections and sit a long while with them - that's what I plan to do.