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David Whyte Essentials
It is not a coincidence that this book will slide easily into your jacket pocket; you ll want to keep it close for unexpected moments, those gifts of small, beckoning spaciousness amidst all our obligations and necessities.
In addition to works written over a span of many years, plus one new poem and one new essay, the book contains David s personal reflections for many of the pieces, providing deeper context to its meaning.
In some ways an artistic representation of a close circle of companionship to the work and to the man : edited by his wife, and designed and typeset by close friends Edward Wates and John Nielson, the book forms an elegant testament to David Whyte's most closely-held understanding - that human life cannot be apportioned out as one thing or another; rather, it is best lived as a living conversation, a way between and beyond, made beautiful by darkness as well as light, at its essence both deeply solitary and profoundly communal.
In addition to works written over a span of many years, plus one new poem and one new essay, the book contains David s personal reflections for many of the pieces, providing deeper context to its meaning.
In some ways an artistic representation of a close circle of companionship to the work and to the man : edited by his wife, and designed and typeset by close friends Edward Wates and John Nielson, the book forms an elegant testament to David Whyte's most closely-held understanding - that human life cannot be apportioned out as one thing or another; rather, it is best lived as a living conversation, a way between and beyond, made beautiful by darkness as well as light, at its essence both deeply solitary and profoundly communal.
119 pages, Paperback
Published December 6, 2019
About the author
David Whyte
74 books1,358 followersPoet David Whyte grew up with a strong, imaginative influence from his Irish mother among the hills and valleys of his father’s Yorkshire. He now makes his home in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.
The author of seven books of poetry and three books of prose, David Whyte holds a degree in Marine Zoology and has traveled extensively, including living and working as a naturalist guide in the Galapagos Islands and leading anthropological and natural history expeditions in the Andes, Amazon and Himalaya. He brings this wealth of experience to his poetry, lectures and workshops.
His life as a poet has created a readership and listenership in three normally mutually exclusive areas: the literate world of readings that most poets inhabit, the psychological and theological worlds of philosophical enquiry and the world of vocation, work and organizational leadership.
An Associate Fellow at Said Business School at the University of Oxford, he is one of the few poets to take his perspectives on creativity into the field of organizational development, where he works with many European, American and international companies. In spring of 2008 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Neumann College, Pennsylvania.
In organizational settings, using poetry and thoughtful commentary, he illustrates how we can foster qualities of courage and engagement; qualities needed if we are to respond to today’s call for increased creativity and adaptability in the workplace. He brings a unique and important contribution to our understanding of the nature of individual and organizational change, particularly through his unique perspectives on Conversational Leadership.
The author of seven books of poetry and three books of prose, David Whyte holds a degree in Marine Zoology and has traveled extensively, including living and working as a naturalist guide in the Galapagos Islands and leading anthropological and natural history expeditions in the Andes, Amazon and Himalaya. He brings this wealth of experience to his poetry, lectures and workshops.
His life as a poet has created a readership and listenership in three normally mutually exclusive areas: the literate world of readings that most poets inhabit, the psychological and theological worlds of philosophical enquiry and the world of vocation, work and organizational leadership.
An Associate Fellow at Said Business School at the University of Oxford, he is one of the few poets to take his perspectives on creativity into the field of organizational development, where he works with many European, American and international companies. In spring of 2008 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Neumann College, Pennsylvania.
In organizational settings, using poetry and thoughtful commentary, he illustrates how we can foster qualities of courage and engagement; qualities needed if we are to respond to today’s call for increased creativity and adaptability in the workplace. He brings a unique and important contribution to our understanding of the nature of individual and organizational change, particularly through his unique perspectives on Conversational Leadership.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
October 26, 2020
I had read about thirty percent of the poems in other collections and even so I didn’t skip them. I’ve rarely encountered a poet who almost always writes at that tangential line where emotion and cognition meet. And then when he writes about the values at the core of my being, whoa, I can’t but simply quote him.
‘But no matter the medicinal virtues of being a true friend or sustaining a long close relationship with another, the ultimate touchstone of friendship is not improvement, neither of the self nor of the other; the ultimate touchstone is witness: the privilege of having been seen by someone and the equal privilege of being granted the sight of the essence of another, to have walked with them and to have believed in them, and sometimes just to have accompanied them for however brief a span, on a journey impossible to accomplish alone.’
David Whyte, Friendship
‘But no matter the medicinal virtues of being a true friend or sustaining a long close relationship with another, the ultimate touchstone of friendship is not improvement, neither of the self nor of the other; the ultimate touchstone is witness: the privilege of having been seen by someone and the equal privilege of being granted the sight of the essence of another, to have walked with them and to have believed in them, and sometimes just to have accompanied them for however brief a span, on a journey impossible to accomplish alone.’
David Whyte, Friendship
September 5, 2022
“so you can find
the one line
already written
inside you.”
“to stop what you
are becoming
while you do it,”
“All those years
forgetting
how easily
you can belong
to everything
simply by listening.”
“I come to you under the moon as if I had
swum under the deepest arch of the ocean,
to find you living where no one could possibly live,”
“, all night I find myself
unable to choose between the love
T feel for you through closeness
and the grief of having to let you go
through distance, so that it seems
I can only breathe fully in the dark”
“To become human
is to become visible
while carrying
what is hidden
as a gift to others.”
“no way to make sense of a world that wouldn't
Tet you pass,”
“To feel abandoned is to deny x
the intimacy of your surroundings.”
“singing a separate self
and learning to be selfless.”
“the privilege of having
meg an unrequited love, a shatte
been seen by someone and the equal privilege of being granted the sight of the essence of another”
“But heartbreak may be the
very essence of being human,”
the one line
already written
inside you.”
“to stop what you
are becoming
while you do it,”
“All those years
forgetting
how easily
you can belong
to everything
simply by listening.”
“I come to you under the moon as if I had
swum under the deepest arch of the ocean,
to find you living where no one could possibly live,”
“, all night I find myself
unable to choose between the love
T feel for you through closeness
and the grief of having to let you go
through distance, so that it seems
I can only breathe fully in the dark”
“To become human
is to become visible
while carrying
what is hidden
as a gift to others.”
“no way to make sense of a world that wouldn't
Tet you pass,”
“To feel abandoned is to deny x
the intimacy of your surroundings.”
“singing a separate self
and learning to be selfless.”
“the privilege of having
meg an unrequited love, a shatte
been seen by someone and the equal privilege of being granted the sight of the essence of another”
“But heartbreak may be the
very essence of being human,”
February 14, 2020
What a perfect little book. It would be worth the $15 just for the first poem, ‘Start Close In’ but there’s so much more to it than that. Beautiful, evocative poetry as you’d expect from David Whyte, accompanied by a paragraph of the poet’s thoughts after each poem; the best description and reassurance of ‘hiding’ I’ve ever read; gorgeous black and white photos taken by the poet, all in a small volume that feels like a treasure to hold.
January 21, 2020
It can't be mere coincidence when something so perfect lands in my lap in the most perfect timing, it couldn't have been planned by mere mortals. The depth of David Whyte's poetry is unmatched, so far as I can tell. His book arrived in my mailbox just as my mother became ill and then passed away three weeks later. Nearly every poem encapsulated my mom and her life in one way or another. And the poems were not even about death, but, rather, about life. This book will forever be one I treasure.
January 1, 2021
I have heard David Whyte's voice online and I connect with his work. I thought when I ordered this book it would be only poetry, but it is much, much more than that. It is not only poetry, but explication, and essays. Edited by Gayle Karen Young Whyte, it moves like the undulating path in the photo on the cover. There are several photos inside this little gem of a book, all by David Whyte except the last one; a portrait of him in the wide open space of County Clare, Ireland by Patrick McCormack.
I took my time reading this book, savoring each page, each thought that resonated with me. This is a book for contemplation. Now that I have finished it, I will return to it again and again from time to time just to "hear" his voice in my head and ponder the thoughts that arise in me because of his words.
I took my time reading this book, savoring each page, each thought that resonated with me. This is a book for contemplation. Now that I have finished it, I will return to it again and again from time to time just to "hear" his voice in my head and ponder the thoughts that arise in me because of his words.
May 29, 2020
Another gem from one of poets who I trust to help me in unearthing true self as well seeing all of my life's journey as moments of arrival and not merely steps on a path to an elusive destination somewhere off in the uncertain future.
January 10, 2024
An excellent collection of Whyte's work, the physical book is charming in its pocket-size, beautiful cover design, and b&w photography.
"What you can plan
is too small
for you to live."
"Inside everyone
is a great shout of joy
waiting to be born."
"... we can never flee from the inner need to run away."
"When the season is allowed to turn, Despair cannot survive."
"We are all a sun-lit moment come from
a long darkness, what moves us always
comes from what is hidden, what seems
to be said so suddenly has lived
in the body for a long, long time."
"We are here, essentially, to risk ourselves in the world"
"What you can plan
is too small
for you to live."
"Inside everyone
is a great shout of joy
waiting to be born."
"... we can never flee from the inner need to run away."
"When the season is allowed to turn, Despair cannot survive."
"We are all a sun-lit moment come from
a long darkness, what moves us always
comes from what is hidden, what seems
to be said so suddenly has lived
in the body for a long, long time."
"We are here, essentially, to risk ourselves in the world"
June 30, 2020
Have you ever read a book of poetry written by a single poet?
If not, this one might be a good place to start. Short but distilled and evocative, this is a compilation of some of David Whyte's best-known and most-loved works of the past 35 years, edited by his wife, Gayle. The sense of something lost, something about to begin, is a strong current running through many of these poems and essays. They seem particularly apropos in this current cultural and historical moment.
Highly recommended.
If not, this one might be a good place to start. Short but distilled and evocative, this is a compilation of some of David Whyte's best-known and most-loved works of the past 35 years, edited by his wife, Gayle. The sense of something lost, something about to begin, is a strong current running through many of these poems and essays. They seem particularly apropos in this current cultural and historical moment.
Highly recommended.
April 28, 2020
This is my favorite book of this (or the last) century.
November 8, 2020
De gedichten van David Whyte vragen ons om elk moment in ons leven volledig te leven. Of je je nu verliefd voelt, of wanhopig. Of je vertrouwen hebt, of als je je wilt verstoppen.
‘’Start close in’’
Het knappe van Whyte’s woorden, is dat ze je tegelijkertijd vragen, bemoedigen, raken, troosten en doen glimlachen. Op dit punt in mijn leven gaven ze me richting. Met het gevoel dat iemand, dat alles me hielp.
‘’You must learn one thing. The world was made to be free in.’’
Soms kan je alle steun gebruiken die je kan vinden. Daarvoor is dit boek een ingang. En een uitgang. Door de bladzijden heen zie je de wereld, de dingen, anderen, vrienden en jezelf; soms scherper dan je ze ooit zag.
‘’All the birds and creatures of the world are unutterably themselves. Everything is waiting for you.’’
Een boek vol leven.
‘’Start close in’’
Het knappe van Whyte’s woorden, is dat ze je tegelijkertijd vragen, bemoedigen, raken, troosten en doen glimlachen. Op dit punt in mijn leven gaven ze me richting. Met het gevoel dat iemand, dat alles me hielp.
‘’You must learn one thing. The world was made to be free in.’’
Soms kan je alle steun gebruiken die je kan vinden. Daarvoor is dit boek een ingang. En een uitgang. Door de bladzijden heen zie je de wereld, de dingen, anderen, vrienden en jezelf; soms scherper dan je ze ooit zag.
‘’All the birds and creatures of the world are unutterably themselves. Everything is waiting for you.’’
Een boek vol leven.
April 29, 2020
I find that the release of this book of poems, Essentials, in the year that we are paring and declaring what is essential in a time of global pandemic is mind blowing. Every page has asked a question, answered a question, taken a deep, yet gentle dive into what is essential at the core of living. The poems are powerful, revelatory, and released in perfect timing for our times.
Thank you, thank you, thank you David Whyte, for living the questions, engaging the great conversation, and finding the words. Yes, this book is definitely ESSENTIAL!!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you David Whyte, for living the questions, engaging the great conversation, and finding the words. Yes, this book is definitely ESSENTIAL!!!
May 22, 2023
This book comes in a very compact, pocket friendly size. I’ve kept it by my bedside but would like to begin to take it with me for those situations where I need to feel grounded.
David Whyte’s poetry invites us to be truly human. It invites us to “ease into the conversation” we don’t want to have with ourselves because of our perceived lack of time, energy, and bravery.
This is a work very near and dear to my heart. Highly recommend to poetry lovers 16 and up.
David Whyte’s poetry invites us to be truly human. It invites us to “ease into the conversation” we don’t want to have with ourselves because of our perceived lack of time, energy, and bravery.
This is a work very near and dear to my heart. Highly recommend to poetry lovers 16 and up.
January 10, 2022
This isn't a book you read and move on to the next book. This is a book you keep in your backpack or by your bedside table to read and reread while on a hike, before going to sleep, when you wake up etc. It's poetry meets philosophy.
August 26, 2023
This is the most beautiful, inspiring small collection of poetry and poetic prose I've read in years. I will carry it with me and read it frequently. It spoke to me in an intimate way for which I am grateful, inspired, and uplifted. Tremendous insights using gorgeous, effective language.
September 8, 2020
If you've never read David Whyte, this is the slim and cheap (yet priceless) copy to pick up. Poems, photos, and essays, perfectly edited by his wife. I will return to this volume again and again.
February 13, 2023
Worth your time ❤️
July 15, 2023
david whyte is bae
😍😍😍
😍😍😍
August 19, 2023
“To feel abandoned is to deny the intimacy of your surroundings.”
- from Everything is Waiting for You (one of my all time fav poems)
I love the simplicity of David Whyte’s work while exploring such integral paradigms of human life— openness, presence, identity, relationship to nature, etc. 💛
- from Everything is Waiting for You (one of my all time fav poems)
I love the simplicity of David Whyte’s work while exploring such integral paradigms of human life— openness, presence, identity, relationship to nature, etc. 💛
July 17, 2020
I just reviewed your book Essentials on Amazon, wonderful!
Simply amazing. David is a poet-philosopher. I first noticed him when I watched his TED Talk, it really moved me. His words are picked and placed so eloquently–I read in awe.
Have you ever met someone with a soul that radiates peace? David's soul radiates peace through his words. This was the first book of poetry I had ever purchased, and I am so moved by it. This one is a book that I continue to go back to. When I feel I need a fresh perspective, I crack this little book and it provides something special.
This book will undoubtedly help many people. I encourage you to get it and enjoy the incredible messages of hope, healing, and encouragement found on every page.
If you are reading this and have not read it, here is a link https://www.amazon.com/David-Whyte-Es...
Simply amazing. David is a poet-philosopher. I first noticed him when I watched his TED Talk, it really moved me. His words are picked and placed so eloquently–I read in awe.
Have you ever met someone with a soul that radiates peace? David's soul radiates peace through his words. This was the first book of poetry I had ever purchased, and I am so moved by it. This one is a book that I continue to go back to. When I feel I need a fresh perspective, I crack this little book and it provides something special.
This book will undoubtedly help many people. I encourage you to get it and enjoy the incredible messages of hope, healing, and encouragement found on every page.
If you are reading this and have not read it, here is a link https://www.amazon.com/David-Whyte-Es...
March 29, 2020
A book that will make an important companion for many years to come. I was skeptical about the idea of the short essays that might explicate the poems and rob them of their mystery but the essays are really their own prose poems.
July 19, 2020
Love David’s poetry. So real and moving.
January 12, 2022
Terrific, terrific book. I picked this up after seeing a passage in a mailing list I belong to, and I found many of the other poems in the volume very impactful. At the end of the volume there are works on despair and grief, and friendship that are truly moving; I found I had to read them a few times and still learned more.
At the end of many of the poems Mr. Whyte has a blurb on his thoughts about the poem, his life when he wrote it, etc. I read the first few, but stopped as I felt that interpreting the poem in my own way was impacted by reading his explanations. Not a fault on his part; but I feel once an artist puts a work out there, it has it's own life and relationship with others.
I borrowed this from the local library, but will purchase a copy as it is one of those rare books I know I will read from time to time during my life.
At the end of many of the poems Mr. Whyte has a blurb on his thoughts about the poem, his life when he wrote it, etc. I read the first few, but stopped as I felt that interpreting the poem in my own way was impacted by reading his explanations. Not a fault on his part; but I feel once an artist puts a work out there, it has it's own life and relationship with others.
I borrowed this from the local library, but will purchase a copy as it is one of those rare books I know I will read from time to time during my life.
Read
December 17, 2022To become human is to become visible while carrying what is hidden as a gift to others.
Seeing you, as you always wanted to be seen. Seeing you, as you yourself had always wanted to see the world.
To feel abandoned is to deny the intimacy of your surroundings.
We are in effect, always close; always close to the ultimate secret: that we are more real in our simple wish to find a way than any destination we could reach: the step between not understanding that and understanding that, is as close as we get to happiness.
Despair, strangely, has its own sense of achievement, and despair, even more strangely, needs despair to keep it alive.
But heartbreak may be the very essence of being human.
Seeing you, as you always wanted to be seen. Seeing you, as you yourself had always wanted to see the world.
To feel abandoned is to deny the intimacy of your surroundings.
We are in effect, always close; always close to the ultimate secret: that we are more real in our simple wish to find a way than any destination we could reach: the step between not understanding that and understanding that, is as close as we get to happiness.
Despair, strangely, has its own sense of achievement, and despair, even more strangely, needs despair to keep it alive.
But heartbreak may be the very essence of being human.
April 17, 2020
I've always been taken away by Whyte's words, all of them and every time.
This collection of his selected work is just the right amount of words for a short pause, the right type of subjects to focus on, and the right size to fit in my pocket or leave it on top of my bookshelf so I can pick up often. I love it so much.
I marked it 'read' for now but I'm sure I will revisit often, for each line needs a second look or a longer gaze to make sense and sink in. Especially in this tumultuous time where we seek peace and truth more than anything else, let this be your guide as it has been mine.
This collection of his selected work is just the right amount of words for a short pause, the right type of subjects to focus on, and the right size to fit in my pocket or leave it on top of my bookshelf so I can pick up often. I love it so much.
I marked it 'read' for now but I'm sure I will revisit often, for each line needs a second look or a longer gaze to make sense and sink in. Especially in this tumultuous time where we seek peace and truth more than anything else, let this be your guide as it has been mine.
November 7, 2021
My friend @mojoglo is a big fan of Whyte so when I saw this book in a Seattle bookstore I really had no choice but to get it. I liked these poems well enough…but I am not a huge nature person so… you know what I’m saying. If you particularly enjoy the contemplation of nature, the transitions from night to day, the seasons, and contemplating faith and the roads taken (or not), these may be just right for you!
.
My very favorites were the prose poems “Despair” and “Heartbreak.” (Hahahahaha omg could I be any more predictable.)
.
Also this line from the poem “Sweet Darkness”:
“anything or anyone / that does not bring you alive / is too small for you.”
.
My very favorites were the prose poems “Despair” and “Heartbreak.” (Hahahahaha omg could I be any more predictable.)
.
Also this line from the poem “Sweet Darkness”:
“anything or anyone / that does not bring you alive / is too small for you.”
September 18, 2022
“Start with the ground you know, the pale ground beneath your feet, your own way to begin the conversation.”
“The world was made to be free in.”
“What we hate in ourselves is what we cannot know”
“I can only breathe fully in the dark”
“Recall the way you are all possibilities you can see and how you live best as an appreciator of horizons whether you reach them or not.”
“To become human is to become visible while carrying what is hidden as a gift to others.”
“I am thinking of faith now and the testaments of loneliness and what we feel we are worthy of in this world.”
“The sense of having walked from far inside yourself out into the revelation”
“The radical act of daring to be happy”
“To feel abandoned is to deny the intimacy of your surroundings.”
“We live in a time of the dissected soul”
“Despair is a difficult, beautiful necessity”
Favorites: Sometimes, Love In The Night, What to Remember when Waking, The Truelove, Santiago, Everything Is Waiting For You, Hiding, Despair
“The world was made to be free in.”
“What we hate in ourselves is what we cannot know”
“I can only breathe fully in the dark”
“Recall the way you are all possibilities you can see and how you live best as an appreciator of horizons whether you reach them or not.”
“To become human is to become visible while carrying what is hidden as a gift to others.”
“I am thinking of faith now and the testaments of loneliness and what we feel we are worthy of in this world.”
“The sense of having walked from far inside yourself out into the revelation”
“The radical act of daring to be happy”
“To feel abandoned is to deny the intimacy of your surroundings.”
“We live in a time of the dissected soul”
“Despair is a difficult, beautiful necessity”
Favorites: Sometimes, Love In The Night, What to Remember when Waking, The Truelove, Santiago, Everything Is Waiting For You, Hiding, Despair
November 20, 2022
A short set of poems and essays by David Whyte.
I guess it is normal for a book of poetry to be hit and miss and this one was like that for me. There were some that just did not resonate, but there were others that I read and re-read to pull all I could out of the them.
I loved the way that his wife described Whyte by saying that "his words create an opening for all of us to find our own way into a sense of ground and home in our bodies and experiences, while casting a larger horizon to move into our future all at once." This reaction to his words is true for me as well.
I guess it is normal for a book of poetry to be hit and miss and this one was like that for me. There were some that just did not resonate, but there were others that I read and re-read to pull all I could out of the them.
I loved the way that his wife described Whyte by saying that "his words create an opening for all of us to find our own way into a sense of ground and home in our bodies and experiences, while casting a larger horizon to move into our future all at once." This reaction to his words is true for me as well.
May 15, 2023
Essential for these times when our soul gets buried in work, family, to-do lists, and general noise that assaults us from all sides.
Deeply spiritual, but not touchy-feely or new agey, the poems in David Whyte: Essentials take us deep within ourselves to the place that motivates us to love, to work, to move forward regardless of the obstacles, regardless of the forces that move against us every day.
Calming, and reinvigorating, the poems in this book are like a drink from a calm, clear pool restorative water.
Deeply spiritual, but not touchy-feely or new agey, the poems in David Whyte: Essentials take us deep within ourselves to the place that motivates us to love, to work, to move forward regardless of the obstacles, regardless of the forces that move against us every day.
Calming, and reinvigorating, the poems in this book are like a drink from a calm, clear pool restorative water.
February 14, 2021
This is the first book of David Whyte’s I’ve read and will surely not be the last. I’m going with 5 stars not because it was perfect but because a few select poems hit me so hard and I know already how often I will refer to this book in the future. I also think the format is perfect as an introduction to a poet - selected works, a blurb from the author about many of them, and some evocative black and white photos interspersed throughout a cute little book.
April 13, 2021
Poetry that allows your voice to come from within
When you see in a writer, the voice that parallels your life, one stops, listens carefully, then walks beside them. The conversation becomes two way. You speak the words they have written and they are yours for awhile. You listen to the words and they hang in the air, against a grey clouded vista. Above a valley, like mist you must walk through to see more clearly.
When you see in a writer, the voice that parallels your life, one stops, listens carefully, then walks beside them. The conversation becomes two way. You speak the words they have written and they are yours for awhile. You listen to the words and they hang in the air, against a grey clouded vista. Above a valley, like mist you must walk through to see more clearly.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews