This is a beautiful, tenderhearted, yet unsentimental book of poetry. Each selection feels carefully handpicked from among a great many others. The poems are gathered from all over the world and from across the centuries, but with a fresh bias towards relatively less-known contemporary poets. This is definitely not one of those tired but true anthologies. The overall effect of Risking Everything points us deep into the ordinary or way past it. It challenges again and again, towards the possibility of a bigger and more fully-lived life for ourselves. Be ready though; it is deep and can at times be a little sad. There is no high-blown tragedy or cheap cynicism, only a gradual and gentle opening of the heart with honesty and wisdom.
Including work from (among many others): Anna Akhmatova, Wendell Berry, Goethe, Hafiz, Hildegard of Bingen, Galway Kinnell, Philip Larkin, Denise Levertov, Antonio Machado, Naomi Shihab Nye, Rilke, Chuang Tzu, Derek Walcott, and W. B. Yeats.
Very strongly recommended to most readers, especially lovers of poetry, spirituality, yoga, and meditation.