Writing as enlightenment : Buddhist American literature into the twenty-first century / edited by John Whalen-Bridge and Gary Storhoff ; foreword by Jan Willis.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Whalen-Bridge, John, 1961-

Storhoff, Gary, 1947-

Series:

SUNY series in Buddhism and American culture.

SUNY series in Buddhism and American culture

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

American literature--Buddhist authors--History and criticism.

American literature.

American literature--Buddhist influences.

Buddhism and literature--United States.

Buddhism and literature.

Buddhism in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (210 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Buddhist American literature into the twenty-first century

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, c2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This timely book explores how Buddhist-inflected thought has enriched contemporary American literature. Continuing the work begun in The Emergence of Buddhist American Literature, editors John Whalen-Bridge and Gary Storhoff and the volume's contributors turn to the most recent developments, revealing how mid-1970s through early twenty-first-century literature has employed Buddhist texts, principles, and genres. Just as Buddhism underwent indigenization when it moved from India to Tibet, to China, and to Japan, it is now undergoing that process in the United States. While some will find literary creativity in this process, others lament a loss of authenticity. The book begins with a look at the American reception of Zen and at the approaches to Dharma developed by African Americans. The work of consciously Buddhist and Buddhist-influenced writers such as Don DeLillo, Gary Snyder, and Jackson Mac Low is analyzed, and a final section of the volume contains interviews and discussions with contemporary Buddhist writers. These include an interview with Gary Snyder; a discussion with Maxine Hong Kingston and Charles Johnson; and discussions of competing American and Asian values at the Beat- and Buddhist-inspired writing program at Naropa University with poets Joanne Kyger, Reed Bye, Keith Abbott, Andrew Schelling, and Elizabeth Robinson.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Introduction

Widening the Stream

The Transmission of Zen as Dual Discourse

Black American Buddhism

The New Lamp

Some of the Dharma

“Listen and Relate”

A Deeper Kind of Truth

Speaking as Enlightenment

“The Present Moment Happening”

Embodied Mindfulness

Poetry and Practice at Naropa University

Contributors

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781438439211

1438439210

9781461906360

1461906369

OCLC:

756496440