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Call Me by My True Names: The Collected Poems Paperback – January 1, 1996
Purchase options and add-ons
- Print length206 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherParallax Press
- Publication dateJanuary 1, 1996
- Dimensions6 x 0.57 x 9.06 inches
- ISBN-101888375167
- ISBN-13978-1888375169
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Editorial Reviews
Review
Sogyal Rinpoche
"The clear, still mind of this meditation teacher gives rise to piercing images time and time again. Nhat Hanh seems an inherently skilled poet....It is these poetic worksmore than his essays or lecturesthat show Thich Nhat Hanh clearly to be a Zen mystic."
San Francisco Chronicle
"When we despair for our world, this book is a wise friend to turn to."
Essential Living
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Parallax Press
- Publication date : January 1, 1996
- Edition : First Edition
- Language : English
- Print length : 206 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1888375167
- ISBN-13 : 978-1888375169
- Item Weight : 11 ounces
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.57 x 9.06 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,552,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7 in Asian Poetry (Books)
- #58 in Religious Poetry (Books)
- #195 in Buddhism (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Thich Nhat Hanh (1926–2022) was a Vietnamese Buddhist Zen Master, poet, and peace activist and one of the most revered and influential spiritual teachers in the world. Born in 1926, he became a Zen Buddhist monk at the age of sixteen. His work for peace and reconciliation during the war in Vietnam moved Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967. In Vietnam, Thich Nhat Hanh founded Van Hanh Buddhist University and the School of Youth for Social Service, a corps of Buddhist peace workers. Exiled as a result of his work for peace, he continued his humanitarian efforts, rescuing boat people and helping to resettle refugees. In 1982 he established Plum Village France, the largest Buddhist monastery in Europe and the hub of the international Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism. Over seven decades of teaching, he published a hundred books, which have been translated into more than forty languages and have sold millions of copies worldwide.
Customer reviews
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find this poetry collection beautiful and classic, praising its ultimate dimension. The book is inspirational and spiritual, with one customer noting its extraordinary insights into the human condition.
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Customers praise the poetry in this book, describing it as beautiful and classic, with one customer noting its focus on the ultimate dimension.
"All of Thich Nhat Hanh's books are written in such a poetic way, but this one is his poetry. I love the imagery that these poems evoke...." Read more
"...The book has two parts, one with poems in the historical dimension (events, experiences) and the second with poems on the ultimate dimension..." Read more
"Absolutely wonderful. He is an an amazing poet." Read more
"...While the words may be simple, their meaning is multilayered and rich...." Read more
Customers find the spiritual content of the book inspirational and heart rending, with one customer noting it provides extraordinary insights into the human condition.
"...As such, it is unflinching and uplifting at the same time...." Read more
"...Moving and inspiring, with added commentary that give insight into the context in which the poem was created." Read more
"...The author's clarity and enlightening style have cut through my muddy mind like a knife through butter...." Read more
"Beautiful. Heart rending. One is inspired to live compassionately through the tears. Thank you The" Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2020Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseAll of Thich Nhat Hanh's books are written in such a poetic way, but this one is his poetry. I love the imagery that these poems evoke. Some are heart-wrenching tear-jerkers and others have me shedding tears of joy. They are mostly sublime in their beauty. His poetry comes from a deeper place of stillness that most of us can only access for brief glimpses of time. This book is well worth the read. Every day, I read a poem from this book and a section from an excellent book on meditation called "Two One None: Conversations on Meditations" before I do a loving friendliness meditation. I feel like I can spend my day more centered that way.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2022Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseI've known some of Thay's (Thich Nhat Hanh) poems for a long while since embarking on practising in the Plum Village tradition of mindfulness. This book contains many other gems that did not get made into songs or gain wider popularity. To read the poems is more like reading a narrative as there is much coverage about the experiences of war. The book has two parts, one with poems in the historical dimension (events, experiences) and the second with poems on the ultimate dimension (philosophical, spiritual). I find the segregation useful in terms of choosing what I wish to read to feed my mind.
- Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2023Absolutely wonderful. He is an an amazing poet.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2014This book touched me deeply. The first section, in the historical realm, was the most painful, as it contains many poems written by the author in wartime. As such, it is unflinching and uplifting at the same time. The second section, in the ultimate realm, has the breadth and depth of the entire universe. While the words may be simple, their meaning is multilayered and rich. Often, Thay comments on when the poems were written, under what conditions, what time in history, and sometimes, for whom. That part, to me, is a bonus, offering a glimpse into the way this master teacher goes about his practice of engaged Buddhism.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2019These poems are profound. Hardly a day does go by that I don't think of the title poem. I am the pirate and I am the girl. I bought both paperback and Kindle ebook copies. Yeah, I need this with me in my phone all the time...
Dear Thay, I bow to you in gratitude.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2010Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseThese poems are simple and beautiful in nature. Great poems to read first thing in the morning or before a meditation. I didn't find them to be unusually impressive, but knowing the type of life led by the man who wrote them gives them much more power. I recommend it.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2023Lobve anything Thich Nhat Hahn!
- Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2015Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseHauntingly honest and eloquent! Venerable Zen Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh writes of living through the Viet Nam war as a monk, of compassion, insight and of love - it's a treasure to read! Such a beautiful soul! One doesn't have to be Buddhist to "get it", just human. I had to keep making myself put it down so I could savor each poem - I'll be re-reading it several times, to be sure!
Top reviews from other countries
- Elizabeth SumnerReviewed in the United Kingdom on May 3, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Just what I wanted
I’ve got two of his books already. I love this collection and often browse through it.
His work is powerful and emotional.
- Christiane RohrReviewed in Canada on May 11, 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars 👍
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseBook is in great condition and arrived in a timely manner. Thanks
-
micheleReviewed in the Netherlands on February 19, 2016
5.0 out of 5 stars een diepgaand juweel
dit juweel laat onder ander zien hoe de Zen meester zijn worstelingen ten aanzien vam oorlogs geweld , omzette in poezie. Em deze poezie laat zijm groot invoelingsveogem zien. Een juweel om keer op keer in te lezen.
- Andeana PaulReviewed in the United Kingdom on February 4, 2015
5.0 out of 5 stars Genius of the poetic expression of compassion
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseThay is an exceptional spiritual teacher and writer whose strong poetic sense throughout his life and work has managed to permeate and make accessible ancient Buddhist teachings, and translate into different languages powerfully. He has shown that we can make every aspect of life into poetry, by bringing our appreciation and awareness to the detail and the ordinary. This book collects his poetic writing, important as biographical record too, and it will always be a highly esteemed classic. But if you haven't explored them, even his most basic guided meditations are also simple, beautiful poetry, accessible to a child, and his genius lies equally there, too.
- F. J.Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 9, 2015
5.0 out of 5 stars I had to take time between each poem. Not ...
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseI had to take time between each poem. Not only to think about the poem but to recover from the sadness the poemmevoked. The descriptions of the tragedy of war are written in a way that speaks directly to the emotions.