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The Buddha Wonders if She is Having a Mid-life Crisis
Luisa A. Igloria's "Buddha poems," written in early 2016, first appeared online at Via Negativa, where she has posted a new poem every day since November 2010.The author says these poems began from the premise that "if the Buddha in me can greet the Buddha in you," then the aspiration to transcendence is a daily work in progress. She writes about the constant seesaw between our appetite for worldly things and the hunger for deeper permanence; about our human imperfections and foibles; and our longing to be touched by grace, if not love and absolution, in this lifetime.
- GenresPoetry
92 pages, Paperback
Published March 4, 2018
About the author
Luisa A. Igloria
26 books23 followersLUISA A. IGLORIA (previously published as Maria Luisa Aguilar-Cariño) is poet and Associate Professor in the MFA Creative Writing Program and Department of English, Old Dominion University. Her work has appeared or will be forthcoming in numerous anthologies and journals including Poetry, Crab Orchard Review, The Missouri Review, Indiana Review, Poetry East, Smartish Pace, Rattle, The North American Review, Bellingham Review, Shearsman (UK), PRISM International (Canada),The Asian Pacific American Journal, and TriQuarterly.
Various national and international literary awards include the 2009 Ernest Sandeen Poetry Prize for Juan Luna's Revolver (University of Notre Dame Press), the 2007 49th Parallel Poetry Prize (selected by Carolyne Wright for the Bellingham Review), the 2007 James Hearst Poetry Prize (selected by former US Poet Laureate Ted Kooser for the North American Review); Finalist, the 2007 Lynda Hull Memorial Prize in Poetry (Crazyhorse); Finalist, the 2007 Indiana Review Poetry Prize; the 2006 National Writers Union Poetry Prize (selected by Adrienne Rich); the 2006 Richard Peterson Poetry Prize (Crab Orchard Review); the 2006 Stephen Dunn Award for Poetry; Finalist, the 2005 George Bogin Memorial Award for Poetry (Poetry Society of America, selected by Joy Harjo); the 2004 Fugue Poetry Prize(selected by Ellen Bryant Voigt); Finalist, the 2003 Larry Levis Editors Prize for Poetry from The Missouri Review; Finalist, the 2003 Dorset Prize (Tupelo Press); the first Sylvia Clare Brown Fellowship from the Ragdale Foundation (2007); a 2003 partial fellowship to the Summer Literary Seminars in St. Petersburg; two Pushcart Prize nominations; a 1998 Fellowship at the Hawthornden Castle International Retreat for Writers in Lasswade, the Midlothians, Scotland; and the 1998 George Kent Award for Poetry.
Originally from Baguio City in the Philippines, Luisa is also an eleven-time recipient of the Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature in three genres (poetry, nonfiction, and short fiction); the Palanca award is the Philippines' highest literary distinction. She has published 10 books including JUAN LUNA'S REVOLVER (University of Notre Dame Press, 2009 Ernest Sandeen Prize in Poetry); TRILL & MORDENT (WordTech Editions, 2005; Co-Winner of the 2007 Global Filipino Literary Awards in Poetry); ENCANTO (Anvil, 2004); and IN THE GARDEN OF THE THREE ISLANDS (Moyer Bell/Asphodel, 1995.
Various national and international literary awards include the 2009 Ernest Sandeen Poetry Prize for Juan Luna's Revolver (University of Notre Dame Press), the 2007 49th Parallel Poetry Prize (selected by Carolyne Wright for the Bellingham Review), the 2007 James Hearst Poetry Prize (selected by former US Poet Laureate Ted Kooser for the North American Review); Finalist, the 2007 Lynda Hull Memorial Prize in Poetry (Crazyhorse); Finalist, the 2007 Indiana Review Poetry Prize; the 2006 National Writers Union Poetry Prize (selected by Adrienne Rich); the 2006 Richard Peterson Poetry Prize (Crab Orchard Review); the 2006 Stephen Dunn Award for Poetry; Finalist, the 2005 George Bogin Memorial Award for Poetry (Poetry Society of America, selected by Joy Harjo); the 2004 Fugue Poetry Prize(selected by Ellen Bryant Voigt); Finalist, the 2003 Larry Levis Editors Prize for Poetry from The Missouri Review; Finalist, the 2003 Dorset Prize (Tupelo Press); the first Sylvia Clare Brown Fellowship from the Ragdale Foundation (2007); a 2003 partial fellowship to the Summer Literary Seminars in St. Petersburg; two Pushcart Prize nominations; a 1998 Fellowship at the Hawthornden Castle International Retreat for Writers in Lasswade, the Midlothians, Scotland; and the 1998 George Kent Award for Poetry.
Originally from Baguio City in the Philippines, Luisa is also an eleven-time recipient of the Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature in three genres (poetry, nonfiction, and short fiction); the Palanca award is the Philippines' highest literary distinction. She has published 10 books including JUAN LUNA'S REVOLVER (University of Notre Dame Press, 2009 Ernest Sandeen Prize in Poetry); TRILL & MORDENT (WordTech Editions, 2005; Co-Winner of the 2007 Global Filipino Literary Awards in Poetry); ENCANTO (Anvil, 2004); and IN THE GARDEN OF THE THREE ISLANDS (Moyer Bell/Asphodel, 1995.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 28, 2019
Shortlisted for the 2019 Rubery Book Award
As the title suggests these poems have a spiritual theme, and are to be read through the lens of Buddhism. The author often brings a good deal of wit and irreverence to this, however, as in the poem, 'You seem to be carrying a lot of guilt', where a therapist consults the Buddha, and he gives her a stress ball; or in 'The Buddha goes on the Internet', where the Buddha is shown to have issues of his own, reminding us that sometimes we have to accept the "ideal as less/than ideal". I like the wit and invention with which she brings Buddhism down to earth, and which helps her avoid the potential pitfalls of didacticism.
RuberyBookAward.com
As the title suggests these poems have a spiritual theme, and are to be read through the lens of Buddhism. The author often brings a good deal of wit and irreverence to this, however, as in the poem, 'You seem to be carrying a lot of guilt', where a therapist consults the Buddha, and he gives her a stress ball; or in 'The Buddha goes on the Internet', where the Buddha is shown to have issues of his own, reminding us that sometimes we have to accept the "ideal as less/than ideal". I like the wit and invention with which she brings Buddhism down to earth, and which helps her avoid the potential pitfalls of didacticism.
RuberyBookAward.com
May 14, 2018
I loved this book of poetry! It was so refreshing and enjoyable to read, and I'm sure I'll read it many more times. Many of the poems were entertaining (with references to day to day life and pop culture) and really made me laugh. All of them were relatable, beautiful, and insightful with ideas that got me thinking about my own life and understanding of the world. This was a really wonderful read!
February 18, 2024
You are the Buddha, they are the Buddha, we are the Buddha! is perhaps what Luisa Igloria claims through this collection of mad and marvelous poems. Contrary to the typical blessed image, the Buddha here assumes qualities of humanness and ordinariness, inasmuch as a reader may pick up bits of themselves in some of these poems. This book is hard to let go, like a golden treasure that takes hours before it’s completely dug up from filthy ground.
April 3, 2018
Wonderful imagery and a delightfully fresh use of forms and stanza structures. Also, the wry humor of these poems makes them timely and thought-provoking.
October 29, 2022
Delicate, elegant, heart-full and revelatory.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews