*This never-before-seen collection of poems offers the lyrical insights
and spiritual wisdom of the Nobel Prize-winning author of Siddhartha,
Steppenwolf, and The Glass Bead Game--who inspired millions as he
forged cultural bridges between the East and West.
**
Vowing at an early age "to be a poet or nothing at all," Hermann Hesse
rebelled against formal education, focusing on a rigorous program of
independent study that included literature, philosophy, art, and
history. One result of these efforts was a series of novels that became
counterculture bibles that remain widely influential today. Another was
a body of evocative spiritual poetry. Published for the first time in
English, these vivid, probing short works reflect deeply on the
challenges of life and provide a spiritual solace that transcends
specific denominational hymns, prayers, and rituals.
*
The Seasons of the Soul offers valuable guidance in poetic form for
those longing for a more meaningful life, seeking a sense of homecoming
in nature, in each stage of life, and in a renewed relationship with the
divine. Extensive quotations from his prose introduce each theme
addressed in the book: love, imagination, nature, the divine, and the
passage of time. A foreword by Andrew Harvey reintroduces us to a figure
about whom some may have believed everything had already been said.
Thoughtful commentary throughout from translator Ludwig Max Fischer
helps readers understand the poems within the context of Hesse's life.
