Poetry Rx

"I used to believe that poetry did not "speak" to me, but I now see how wrong I was. I lived for 44 years with a husband, a lyricist, whose beautifully crafted, heartfelt lyrics touched my every fiber and continue to uplift and inspire me a decade after his death. The special beauty of Dr. Rosenthal's book for me is his discussion of what each poem is saying, what the poet was likely feeling and often how the poems helped him personally, as when he left his birth family in South Africa for a rewarding career in the United States." - Jane Brody, Author & New York Times Columnist Poetry to Heal, Inspire and Enjoy Poetry Rx presents 50 great poems as seen through the eyes of a renowned psychiatrist and New York Times bestseller. In this book, you will find insights into love, sorrow, ecstasy and everything in between: Love in the moment or for a lifetime; love that is fulfilling or addictive; when to break up and how to survive when someone breaks up with you. Separate sections deal with responses to the natural world, and the varieties of human experience (such as hope, reconciliation, leaving home, faith, self-actualization, trauma, anger, and the thrill of discovery). Other sections involve finding your way in the world and the search for meaning, as well as the final stages of life. In describing this multitude of human experiences, using vignettes from his work and life, Rosenthal serves as a comforting guide to these poetic works of genius. Through his writing, the workings of the mind, as depicted by these gifted writers speak to us as intimately as our closest friends. Rosenthal also delves into the science of mind and brain. Who would have thought, for example, that listening to poetry can cause people to have goosebumps by activating the reward centers of the brain? Yet research shows that to be true. And who were these fascinating poets? In a short biosketch that accompanies each poem, Rosenthal draws connections between the poets and their poems that help us understand the enigmatic minds that gave birth to these masterworks. Altogether, a fulfilling and intriguing must-read for anyone interested in poetry, the mind, self-help and genius. CONTENTS Introduction PART ONE Loving and Losing Chapter One Is There an Art to Losing? One Art by Elizabeth Bishop Chapter Two Can Love Transform You? How do I love thee? Let me count the ways by Elizabeth Barrett Browning Chapter Three The Heart versus the Mind Pity me not because the light of dayby Edna St. Vincent Millay Chapter Four Love in the Moment Lullaby by W. H. Auden Chapter Five When Love Fades Failing and Flyingby Jack Gilbert Chapter Six Getting Over a Breakup I: Acceptance Why so pale and wan fond lover?by Sir John Suckling Chapter Seven Getting Over a Breakup II: Reclaiming Yourself Love after Love by Derek Walcott, Chapter Eight Declaring Your Love Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? by William Shakespeare Chapter Nine Consoled by Love Sonnet 29: When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes by William Shakespeare Chapter Ten In Praise of the Marriage of True Minds Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds by William Shakespeare Chapter Eleven Loss of a Loved One Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone (Funeral Blues) by W. H. Auden Chapter Twelve Will I Ever Feel Better? Time Does Not Bring Relief by Edna St. Vincent Millay Chapter Thirteen Love Remembered When You Are Old by William Butler Yeats Chapter Fourteen Love after Death Remember by Christina Rossetti, PART TWO That Inward Eye Chapter Fifteen