Arts, Literature & Culture

This celebration of what is perhaps the most influential of all poetic forms takes haiku back to its Japanese roots, beginning with poems by the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century masters Basho, Busson, and Issa, and going all the way up to…  Read More

Women—religious and secular, medieval and modern—have always demonstrated their own unique approach to matters of the spirit. Limited in their public roles throughout much of history, women have been compelled to turn inward, developing rich interior lives in uniquely feminine…  Read More

Haiku is celebrated as a concise form of poetry able to convey a singular moment with great clarity. While haiku most often depicts the natural world, when focused on the elements of love and sensuality, haiku can be a…  Read More

Although alone, the lover is never lonely,
Forever hidden with the Beloved.

Love is the meaning of our existence, the raw material of transformation, the glorious way of access to Divine intimacy. This teaching infuses the lyric verse of Rumi (1207–1273),…  Read More

Here is the most complete single-volume collection of the writings of one of the great luminaries of Asian literature. Basho (1644–1694)—who elevated the haiku to an art form of utter simplicity and intense spiritual beauty—is best known in the West…  Read More