A Mystic Poet From The Mid-West?

Los Angeles, CA — When I hear the words “mystic poet”, if anything comes to mind at all, it’s probably Kahlil Gibran, author of The Prophet; or perhaps, Rabindranath Tagore, or even Omar Khayyam. They are certainly all mystic poets and they share at least one common trait – they all come from the East.

The East seems to have a historical right to produce mystic poets – the East is still mysterious and full of behaviors and attitudes that seem slightly unearthly and sometimes a bit miraculous. So, it's appropriate for the East to produce such “slightly larger than reality” personages from time to time.

However, there is a faint buzz coming out of the mid-West; murmurs about someone speaking about mystical experiences with God, about the reality of a love greater than the human love we usually experience. His poems talk about perceiving “the hidden purpose, the faint fine-spun fabric of symmetry and order”. “Knowing that all is pristinely played and crowned with permanent delight”.

Critics are describing his work as “… sheer joyful wisdom, wonder, warmth and wild beauty … The language is stunning… I think From The Path is more than just a book of poems. It is a way of thinking and being that comes from our connection with language and the power of words…” BookIdeas.com “A spiritual bullet that will penetrate your soul with excitement for the written word. …poems filled with inspiration about … faith, love and beliefs. An appealing book of wisdom… a wonderful gift or tool for your own soul searching.” Midwest Book Review

The poet? William W. Simpson. His book? From The Path: Verses on the Mystic Journey. He will be reading his poetry, in the following cities this summer:

Evansville - He will be offering a free meditation workshop along with his poetry at Bead Angel (3033 W. Maryland St.) on Thursday, August 11 at 7 pm and Spiral Dance (1451 S. Green River Rd.) on Saturday, August 13 at 2 pm. He will be reading his poetry at Borders (6401 E. Lloyd Expressway) on Friday, August 12 at 7 pm and Barnes & Noble (624 S. Green River Rd.) on Sunday August 14th at 2 pm.

Denver - He will be offering a free meditation workshop along with his poetry, at Quantum Alchemy (913 Corona St.) on Wednesday, August 24 at 6 pm. And, he will be reading his poetry at Borders Books (1600 Pearl St.) on Thursday, August 25 at 7 pm.

Wichita - He will be reading his poetry at Borders Books (2441 N. Maize Rd.) on Monday, August 22nd at 7:30 pm.

St. Louis - He will be reading his poetry in the St. Louis area at Borders (1519 S. Brentwood Blvd in Brentwood) on Tuesday, August 16 at 7 pm and Borders (15355 Manchester Rd. in Baldwin) on Wednesday August 17th at 7 pm.

Phoenix - He will be reading his poetry at Borders Books (2402 East Camelback) on Sunday, August 28 at 3 pm.

Kansas City - He will be reading his poetry at Barnes & Noble (8625 Northwest Prairie View Rd) on Friday, August 19 at 7 pm and Borders - Northlands (8625 North Boardwalk Ave.) on Sunday August 21st at 2 pm. He will be offering a free meditation workshop along with his poetry, at Aquarius Books (3936 Broadway) on Saturday August 20th at 3 pm.

See for yourself whether the mid-West has really produced a mystic poet.

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