Mother Guru is a collection of refined devotional poetry in the tradition of Hafiz and Rumi—whose poems of love continue to inspire millions throughout the world. The fact that this poetry appears in contemporary dress is more gracious still. The author, Red Hawk, is a widely published and awardwinning poet, professor of English at the University of Arkansas, at Monticello. He is also an unabashed disciple of a great contemporary Master, Mister Lee Lozowick (1943- 2010), and one who is willing to bare that discipleship in poetry written as prayer, expressly for and with his guru in mind and heart. In this sense, Mother Guru is a daring book and courageous, as the author overlooks scholarly reputation, trusting rather in the love that infuses what he writes. He also risks the opprobrium of those who limit the expression of the spiritual to sweet words and lofty sentiments. These are poems of a truly broken heart—pleading poems, begging poems, prayers and curses, bawdy, ironic, hilarious, tough-minded, sometimes angry, often just broken. Few books of poetry today attempt to traverse this razor’s edge—fewer still can do so with respect, dignity and passion. Mother Guru is a guidebook to such a challenge, and offers inspiration and a call to profound honesty to the sincere seeker of any mystical tradition.
Mother Guru is a collection of refined devotional poetry in the tradition of Hafiz and Rumi—whose poems of love continue to inspire millions throughout the world. The fact that this poetry appears in contemporary dress is more gracious still. The author, Red Hawk, is a widely published and awardwinning poet, professor of English at the University of Arkansas, at Monticello. He is also an unabashed disciple of a great contemporary Master, Mister Lee Lozowick (1943- 2010), and one who is willing to bare that discipleship in poetry written as prayer, expressly for and with his guru in mind and heart. In this sense, Mother Guru is a daring book and courageous, as the author overlooks scholarly reputation, trusting rather in the love that infuses what he writes. He also risks the opprobrium of those who limit the expression of the spiritual to sweet words and lofty sentiments. These are poems of a truly broken heart—pleading poems, begging poems, prayers and curses, bawdy, ironic, hilarious, tough-minded, sometimes angry, often just broken. Few books of poetry today attempt to traverse this razor’s edge—fewer still can do so with respect, dignity and passion. Mother Guru is a guidebook to such a challenge, and offers inspiration and a call to profound honesty to the sincere seeker of any mystical tradition.