The Bell and the Blackbird

David Whyte is my unexpected workplace godfather.Whyte, a poet, consultant, speaker, and even tour guide, published a book in 1996 called “The Heart Aroused : Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America.” He asked a question that no one else was asking at the time: can poetry save the corporate soul?Whyte, and his books ("The Heart Aroused" was followed by "Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity") help me navigate what was happening in my own workplace, using poetry as a rudder. In addition to his business-oriented books, he had also published poetry, collections like “Where Many Rivers Meet” (1990), “Fire in the Earth” (1992), and “The House of Belonging” (1996). He’s published several more since then.Whyte is still consulting and still writing poetry. His latest collection is “The Bell and the Blackbird,” published in July. This one is vintage Whyte – quiet poems, a consciousness of the natural world, and a well-ordered mind often considered a less-than-well-ordered universe. He includes poems written to specific friends, so well observed and gentle that they seem almost love poems. He writes in memory of the dead, including a poem about a friend who commits suicide. He writes about place, too, like Ireland and Australia, the Nakasendo trail region of Japan, and the moorland of his native Britain (Whyte and his family live in the Pacific Northwest).Whyte writes long poems and short poems, all of them reflecting a practiced eye and a heart that, if not aroused, is at least awake and aware. This poem, for example, sounds like it’s one of his Nakasendo poems, but it’s placed in a different section.BowSeeing youplace that stoneso carefullyon the roadsideshrine,I inclined my headto watch itbalance and stayas youlifted your handso breathlesslyaway,just the slightestmost subtleinclinationof the headtowardyou,that afterwardswalkingtoward eveningI realizedhad beenmy bow.The poem is deceptively simple. Read it the first time, and it’s the poet observing a companion place a stone on a roadside shrine. Read it a second time, and you realize the poet is bending toward his companion in the same way the companion is bending toward the shrine, suggesting a kind of sacred reverence and a depth of relationship far beyond noticing a single act at a shrine. And this understanding is understood not in the moment but later, “walking toward evening,” which could mean the same day or as one’s approaching old age.Whyte packs a considerable amount of ideas into a few, simple words.He received a degree in marine zoology, and he holds honorary degrees from Neumann University of Pennsylvania and Royal Roads University in British Columbia. He is also an Associate Fellow of the Said Business School at Oxford University.“The Bell and the Blackbird” is a moving collection, full of surprises, simplicity, and depth.

Poet David Whyte is clearly firing on all cylinders with this book. I have read pretty much everything David has written, and listened to pretty much every audio recording he has released. While I'm usually impressed with whatever he produces, I find this work to be among my very favorite books of David's original poetry. It is classic David Whyte, yet it no re-tread of prior work. It is fresh and vital, and moves the reader to feel fresh and vital along with it.

I give it five stars because the language is exquisite, the words/content so meaningful.(If I could rate the quality of the shape the package arrived, I’d rate it a “1.” The cover arrived tattered. I kept it because it was for myself but I’m getting close to stop ordering books from Amazon because they do not arrive in good shape—they have too much room to move around in a box and they arrive looking very used due to bent corners.)

David Whyte is an amazing poet and philosopher as this book amply demonstrates!

his words inspire and move me. Although this has been my leased favorite of his writings.

I read in the morning before the sun came up and on the subway at rush hour. I read it in David Whyte’s voice and matched my breathing with the rhythm of the lines. I’ll be reading and re-reading this for a while.

David Whyte’s books are a pleasure to read and meditate with. Well beyond my expectations. I am telling many people I know about this man and his poetry.

I thank my stars for Mr. Whyte during Covid. Have shared this with friends, all feel the same.

A beautiful and deeply moving collection of poems about love and loss, the goodbyes from dear friends with whom we continue to share and communicate across the realms. I especially loved 'Prayer for James Monahan' and the poems for John O'Donoghue: 'Goodbye for Now', 'Maam Cross' and 'Avignon Elegy'. Some poems take us towards the road ahead, such as 'Just Beyond Yourself':'There is a road always beckoning. When you see the two sides of it closing together at that far horizon and deep in the foundations of your own heart at exactly the same time, that's how you know it's the road you have to follow ...'

beautiful compilation, moving

LOVE this book - loved looking and researching David Whyte - if you have not yet read his poetry - please start!! Can't recommend enough!! For poetry lovers or anyone wishing to read for comfort and understanding that feelings are universal.

Love the book but disappointed by damage due to shipping

A beautiful book. Fabulous cover and presentation.A most enjoyable change lectionary of poetry.Writing of a very high calibre on not the artistic and spiritual level.