Table of Contents

Foreword Philip Zaleski ix

Introduction Billy Collins xv

Starting Out from Ted Hughes's Letters from The Georgia Review Coleman Barks 1

The Return from Orion Rick Bass 5

Words of Nectar and Cyanide from First Things Joseph Bottum 10

Words Are Not Enough from Portland Alice Lok Cahana 23

A Mindful Beauty from The American Scholar Joel E. Cohen 30

Grave from The Atlantic Billy Collins 43

Czeslaw Milosz's Glasses from The Southern Review Robert Cording 45

Turning Points from The Christian Century Paul J. Griffiths 49

Sesshin with Sasaki Roshi from Shambhala Sun Michael Haederle 59

Barley and Yaks from Orion Edward Hoagland 70

Taking the Veil from Portland Nancy Honicker 85

Buddha's Savage Peace from The Atlantic Robert D. Kaplan 89

Let My People Go to the Buffet from Commentary Jesse Kellerman 100

Who Am I, Lord, That You Should Know My Name? from Portland Bruce Lawrie 113

1934 from The New Yorker Philip, Levine 116

An Intimate Geography from The American Scholar Barry Lopez 119

Sisters & Daughters from First Things Robert Miola 130

We and You-Let Us Meet in God's Love from Sophia Seyyed Hossein Nasr 137

The Contemplative Life from Image Marilyn Nelson 152

Pigs (see Swine) from The Hudson Review Melissa Range 155

Bleecker Street from The New Yorker Philip Schultz 157

Scordatura: Upon Listening to Biber's Rosary Sonatas from Image Anita Sullivan 159

Believing in Flannery O'Connor from Commentary Terry Teachout 166

Trismegistus from The New Yorker Richard Wilbur 175

Christianity Face to Face with Islam from First Things Robert Louis Wilken 177

Ian's Angels from Image Nancy Willard 197

The Foundation from The New Yorker C. K. Williams 199

My Bright Abyss from The American Scholar Christian Wiman 201

The Shul at Loon Lake from Commentary Ruth R. Wisse 210

What Art Can and Can't Do from First Things Philip Yancey 221

Contributors' Notes 235

Other Notable Spiritual Writing of the Year 240