The Seasons of the Soul

<b>This never-before-seen collection of poems offers the lyrical insights and spiritual wisdom of the Nobel Prize-winning author of <i>Siddhartha Steppenwolf </i>and <i>The Glass Bead Game</i>&#151;who inspired millions as he forged cultural bridges between the East and West.<br> </b><br> Vowing at an early age &#147;to be a poet or nothing at all&#148; Hermann Hesse rebelled against formal education focusing on a rigorous program of independent study that included literature philosophy art and history. One result of these efforts was a series of novels that became counterculture bibles that remain widely influential today. Another was a body of evocative spiritual poetry. Published for the first time in English these vivid probing short works reflect deeply on the challenges of life and provide a spiritual solace that transcends specific denominational&#160;hymns prayers and rituals.<br> <i><br> The Seasons of the Soul </i>offers valuable guidance in poetic form for those longing for a more meaningful life seeking a sense of homecoming in nature in each stage of life and in a renewed relationship with the divine. Extensive quotations from his prose introduce each theme addressed in the book: love imagination nature the divine and the passage of time. A foreword by Andrew Harvey reintroduces us to a figure about whom some may have believed&#160;everything had already been said. Thoughtful commentary throughout from translator Ludwig Max Fischer helps readers understand the poems within the context of Hesse&#146;s life.