My fellow artists and readers,
I want to make a brief
announcement about my upcoming, yet-to-be published, book of poetry entitled Zen is Now.
As you already know, I've been on
the New York poetry circuit for nearly 30 years and have read my works and have
published them in several anthologies as well as numerous publications. I have
even printed my poetry online at my blog site: Obsidianthemystictakesnewyork.blogspot.com.
However, never have I presented
the bulk of my work for you to view. Zen
is Now is just that. It is a compilation of nearly 30 years of my poetry
material, many of which you might've heard and seen me perform on stage. Some
of which you may not be acquainted with, since they were never read or
submitted for publication. There are also a few new verses included as well.
Here is the story behind the
making of Zen is Now.
After several years of productive
writing and performances, I suddenly ran into a severe creative drought, in
that I wasn't able to produce any subsequent material. As a result I pretty
much disappeared from the poetry scene all together. However, after a span of
four years I was suddenly struck with new inspiration and a flood of prose
began to flow from my subconscious. Unfortunately, this recent creativeness was
inspired by a succession of tragic events.
Shortly after my 50th birthday I
was informed by my VA doctor that I had cancer, which required radical surgery
and lot of recovery. Fortunately, I can say that I am cancer free and plan to
be around for a long time. In addition, a year later I lost my precious mother
after a protracted and exhausting battle with congestive heart failure. This
was coupled with the unexpected death by suicide of a very close friend of mine,
who took his life at the tender age of 30. To say the least, after these
episodes I had truly hit rock bottom.
Oddly, what came out of these successive
adversities was nothing short of a miracle, because these catastrophic events shocked me out of my creative dry spell.
What followed was an unexpected opening of a well-spring of new prose. It also
caused me to revisit and to rewrite a number of my older works. I felt this was
appropriate in order to better express the ideas and emotions I felt at the
time they were originally put to pen. I also intended to honor the live of my
mother and the lives of so many close friends who traveled a while with me along the bard’s highway,
before departing off into the great void.
In all, Zen is Now is the product of my personal, philosophical ruminations
of this experience called life, as well as my contemplation of the future with
the view to attaining the coveted state of Zen.
In regard to the chosen title, I
like to draw attention to the word Zen.
It seems whenever one considers this word it conjures up metaphors like
inner
peacefulness, tranquility, as
well as a profound sense of well-being. Not surprisingly, this is what I had in
mind when choosing the book’s title. I'm
certain you will agree that reaching this state and maintaining it is not an
easy task, especially when life is beset by so many hardships and a garden-variety
of adversities.
Nevertheless, there always remains
hope.
This is the theme I wish to
permeate throughout the body of this collection. However, I have to admit there
are times when my verses fail to reflect this kind of optimism, but are rather
filled with unmitigated anger, frustration, an incongruity of humor and even
righteous indignation. In spite of this, in the end the central theme of Zen
can be found and the premise remains one of resolution.
Each poem reflects my inner voice
in a variety of contrasting demeanors. Some are light and jovial. Others are
dark and foreboding. There are even a few deep, metaphysical reflections. In
all, I come to realize there are many disparate ways I have made my voice heard
over the years, and that the path to enlightenment can be like a Sisyphean
journey with many highs and lows along the way.
What is more, you will discover there
is always the element of passion to be found in my work. I believe if you cannot
add a little fire to your words than you ought to throw your prose into the
fire!
This brings me to another issue I
wish to touch upon. Since I have become known as a mystical poet, there is also the element of the sacerdotal. At this
juncture I deem it necessary to clarify what I mean by the word
"mystical," since I have been accused by some religious critics to be a
practitioner of the magical arts. One would think I was being accused of
something worse! Whenever I say "mystical" I am referring to matters
which are close to the heart; such things as love, the pain of loss, the sort
of things which make you reflect deeply upon the meaning of life and its hidden
influences. To me these things are indeed a great mystery to be unraveled.
In addition, those of you who
are familiar with my poetry might recognize some of the changes I have made in
several of the older pieces. I made these adjustments because I felt it more
accurately conveyed the thoughts I originally intended when the verses were first
put to pen. I hope that you'll relish these modified stanzas as you have the
originals.
Lastly, I believe you will
discover Zen is Now to be a rare odyssey
into the inner workings of my mind. It is my wish to take you into some of my more
profound, esoteric ruminations. I hope you will also find it to be a
celebration of the creative forces which shape our daily lives in this grand experiment. Zen is Now is an
affirmation that no matter which road we travel, we will all meet at the same
summit, at that eternal state of Zen.
I encourage you to sit back with
your favorite cup of Joe and enjoy reading this collection.
Sincerely,
Daniel Canada aka Obsidian
ALSO CHECK OUT MY 2 BOOKS “THE
SHAITAN” & “HOBO HANDBOOK: MEMOIRS OF A HOMELESS POET IN NEW YORK” SOLD AT THESE
LOCATIONS:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/655627
Barnes & Noble Bookstore: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-shaitan-daniel-canada/1123886050?ean=2940152342888
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hobo-handbook-daniel-canada/1124340542?ean=2940153669205
They are not being sold on Amazon.com at this time.
To view a few sample pages or to
purchase the books visit:
https://smashwords.com/books/view/573076 (Note: You must 1st remove “adult content” filter from top
right hand corner of Smashword page to access the books, by clicking the “Adult
Content” button before
searching for the titles titles in search field).
If you want to view my Smashwords
Author Profile visit:
You can also check out the comments
I will be posting on these social media sites:
My
Facebook account: https://www.facebook.com/daniel.canada3
My
Twitter account: https://twitter.com/lordlumiel
I’d love to hear
from you!
-Daniel Canada aka
Obsidian
