Alan Smith
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Beauty is an Edge of Becoming : Excerpt of John's Interview with Krista Tippett from On Being
John Reciting His Blessings:
Beannacht
A Blessing for a Friend on the Arrival of Illness
A Blessing for One Who Holds Power
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Ann Cahill, MA
Director, The John O'Donohue Legacy Partnership
acahill.jod@gmail.com or jodonohue.estate@yahoo.ie
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Europe
NEW Anam Cara: 25th Anniversary Edition
A special twenty-fifth anniversary edition of the classic work of Celtic spirituality and mysticism by beloved poet and philosopher, John O'Donohue, with a new introduction by the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, an afterword by the late author’s brother, Pat O'Donohue, and insightful material from O'Donohue's circle of close friends. In this revered classic, John O’Donohue excavates themes of friendship, belonging, solitude, creativity and the imagination, among many others. Widely recognized for bringing Celtic spirituality into modern dialogue, his unique insights from the ancient world speak with urgency for our need to rediscover the thresholds of the soul. With lyrical wisdom and fluency, O'Donohue encourages pathways of discovery to come home to the natural rhythm in ourselves in sacred connection with one another and the landscapes we inhabit.
Click here to learn more about this new release!
Europe Release February 23, 2023
Walking on the Pastures of Wonder
Poet and Philosopher John O'Donohue left behind a remarkable body of work on the subjects of spirituality and Celtic mysticism. Walking on the Pastures of Wonder is a poignant and inspirational collection of radio conversations and presentations from O'Donohue's work with close friend and former RTÉ broadcaster, John Quinn. These timeless conversations explore themes such as wonder, landscape, the medieval mystic Meister Eckhart, ageing and death, in O'Donohue's inimitable lyrical style.
"Wonder, imagination and possibility were John's great concerns... Whatever the medium, there are great riches here - the product of a brilliant mind, a mind that never stopped striving to advance the frontiers of possibility." John Quinn (book foreword)
Benedictus
When we stand before crucial thresholds in our lives, we have no rituals to protect, encourage and guide us as we cross over into the unknown. For such crossings, we need to find new words. What is nearest to the heart is often farthest from the word.
This book reaches into that tenuous space from the known familiar world into new unmapped territory. Drawing on Celtic spiritual traditions to present a compilation of poetic blessings and insights, John O'Donohue offers comfort and encouragement for the milestones and transitions of life. We begin to recognize that our relationships with one another, and even the most seemingly insignificant rituals which frame our days, are crucial to our emotional and spiritual well-being.
Divine Beauty
Beauty is a gentle but urgent call to awaken. John O’Donohue opens our eyes, hearts, and minds to the wonder of our own relationship with beauty by exposing the infinity and mystery of its breadth. His words return us to the dignity of silence, profundity of stillness, power of thought and perception, and the eternal grace and generosity of beauty’s presence. In this masterful and revelatory book, O'Donohue encourages our greater intimacy with beauty and celebrates it for what it really is: a homecoming of the human spirit. By focusing on the classical, medieval, and Celtic traditions of art, music, literature, nature and language, O'Donohue reveals how beauty's invisible embrace invites us toward new heights of passion and creativity, even in these uncertain times of global conflict and crisis.
"John O'Donohue has contributed a major work... It is the work of a writer finding new space to celebrate old truths."
Irish Times
"A lively and informed discussion among great minds - a digest of provocative views on the inexhaustible and compelling topic. This refreshing book falls like rain on the parched plain of contemporary discourse." Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Eternal Echoes
There is a divine restlessness in the human heart, our eternal echo of longing that lives deep within us and never lets us settle for what we have or where we are. In this exquisitely crafted book, John O'Donohue explores the most basic of human desires - the desire to belong. It's a desire that constantly draws us toward new possibilities of self-discovery, friendship, and creativity. Exploring perennial themes and gaining insights from a range of ancient beliefs, O'Donohue draws inspiration from Ireland's rich spiritual heritage of Celtic thought and imagination. It is a heritage of profound, mystical wisdom that will open pathways to peace and contentment, and lead us to live with creativity, honor, and compassion the one life that has been given to us.
"As diaphanous and beautiful as the spiritual reality he is portraying, Eternal Echoes speaks to the soul." Larry Dossey
"O'Donohue has produced a treasury for readers of all faiths. A demanding, high-wire existentialist adventure that will inspire readers to re-evaluate their goals and ways of being in the world. O'Donohue ends each chapter with a lyrical blessing or prayer, and his book itself is a profound, healing prayer."
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Conamara Blues
Translating the beauty and splendor of his native Conamara into a language exquisitely attuned to the wonder of everyday, John O'Donohue takes us on a moving journey through real and imagined worlds. Divided into three parts - Approachings, Encounters, and Distances - Conamara Blues at once reawakens a sense of intimacy with the natural world and a feeling of wonder at the mystery of our relationship to this world. Whether exploring the silent, eternal memory of Conamara or focusing on the power of language and the vagaries of human need and passion, O'Donohue tenderly reveals the fragile vulnerability of love and friendship. The result is a musical, transcendent, and deeply moving series of poems that exemplifies O'Donohue at his finest.
"John O'Donohue is the real thing: a poetic priest with the soul of a pagan." Booklist
Echoes of Memory
In this powerful, evocative collection, master storyteller, John O'Donohue explores themes of love and loss, beginnings and endings. Inspired by the ancient wisdom of the Celtic tradition and the rugged, majestic landscape of his birth, the West of Ireland, here he also creates a unique vision of a place and a time, and the echo of memory that will never fade.
"O'Donohue's books fairly plead with humankind to escape our contemporary dehumanizing traps and, in so doing, return to a spiritual heritage that includes intimacy, poetry, connectedness and compassion." The Boulder Planet
"His taut concise pieces use words and syntax with the sort of freedom that comes after mastery." Books Ireland
Four Elements: Reflections on Nature
In The Four Elements, Poet and Philosopher John O'Donohue draws upon his Celtic heritage and the love of his native landscape, the West of Ireland, to weave a tapestry of beautifully evoked images of nature. As John explores a ranges of themes relating to the way we live our lives today, he reveals how the energy and rhythm of the natural world - its innocence and creativity, its power and splendor - hold profound lessons for us all.
“In these meditations John inspires us to look again at the thought patterns and habits that we have created. He speaks about the elements in a poetic, imaginative way. He extends to them the presence of an open mind which calls forth a conversation overflowing with beauty and mystery.”
Pat O'Donohue (John's brother, book foreword)
USA
NEW Anam Cara: 25th Anniversary Edition
A special twenty-fifth anniversary edition of the classic work of Celtic spirituality and mysticism by beloved poet and philosopher, John O'Donohue, with a new introduction by the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, an afterword by the late author’s brother, Pat O'Donohue, and insightful material from O'Donohue's circle of close friends. In this revered classic, John O’Donohue excavates themes of friendship, belonging, solitude, creativity and the imagination, among many others. Widely recognized for bringing Celtic spirituality into modern dialogue, his unique insights from the ancient world speak with urgency for our need to rediscover the thresholds of the soul. With lyrical wisdom and fluency, O'Donohue encourages pathways of discovery to come home to the natural rhythm in ourselves in sacred connection with one another and the landscapes we inhabit.
Click here to learn more about this new release!
US and Canada Release November 29, 2022
Walking in Wonder
Poet and Philosopher John O'Donohue left behind a remarkable body of work on the subjects of spirituality and Celtic mysticism. Walking in Wonder is a poignant and inspirational collection of radio conversations and presentations from O'Donohue's work with close friend and former RTÉ broadcaster, John Quinn. These timeless conversations explore themes such as wonder, landscape, the medieval mystic Meister Eckhart, ageing and death, in O'Donohue's inimitable lyrical style. Click here to learn more about this release!
With a foreword by Krista Tippett.
US / UK Release November 6, 2018
To Bless the Space Between Us
When we stand before crucial thresholds in our lives, we have no rituals to protect, encourage and guide us as we cross over into the unknown. For such crossings, we need to find new words. What is nearest to the heart is often farthest from the word.
This book reaches into that tenuous space from the known familiar world into new unmapped territory. Drawing on Celtic spiritual traditions to present a compilation of poetic blessings and insights, John O'Donohue offers comfort and encouragement for the milestones and transitions of life. We begin to recognize that our relationships with one another, and even the most seemingly insignificant rituals which frame our days, are crucial to our emotional and spiritual well-being.
Beauty
Beauty is a gentle but urgent call to awaken. John O’Donohue opens our eyes, hearts, and minds to the wonder of our own relationship with beauty by exposing the infinity and mystery of its breadth. His words return us to the dignity of silence, profundity of stillness, power of thought and perception, and the eternal grace and generosity of beauty’s presence. In this masterful and revelatory book, O'Donohue encourages our greater intimacy with beauty and celebrates it for what it really is: a homecoming of the human spirit. By focusing on the classical, medieval, and Celtic traditions of art, music, literature, nature and language, O'Donohue reveals how beauty's invisible embrace invites us toward new heights of passion and creativity, even in these uncertain times of global conflict and crisis.
"John O'Donohue has contributed a major work... It is the work of a writer finding new space to celebrate old truths."
Irish Times
"A lively and informed discussion among great minds - a digest of provocative views on the inexhaustible and compelling topic. This refreshing book falls like rain on the parched plain of contemporary discourse." Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Eternal Echoes
There is a divine restlessness in the human heart, our eternal echo of longing that lives deep within us and never lets us settle for what we have or where we are. In this exquisitely crafted book, John O'Donohue explores the most basic of human desires - the desire to belong. It's a desire that constantly draws us toward new possibilities of self-discovery, friendship, and creativity. Exploring perennial themes and gaining insights from a range of ancient beliefs, O'Donohue draws inspiration from Ireland's rich spiritual heritage of Celtic thought and imagination. It is a heritage of profound, mystical wisdom that will open pathways to peace and contentment, and lead us to live with creativity, honor, and compassion the one life that has been given to us.
"As diaphanous and beautiful as the spiritual reality he is portraying, Eternal Echoes speaks to the soul." Larry Dossey
"O'Donohue has produced a treasury for readers of all faiths. A demanding, high-wire existentialist adventure that will inspire readers to re-evaluate their goals and ways of being in the world. O'Donohue ends each chapter with a lyrical blessing or prayer, and his book itself is a profound, healing prayer."
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Conamara Blues
Translating the beauty and splendor of his native Conamara into a language exquisitely attuned to the wonder of everyday, John O'Donohue takes us on a moving journey through real and imagined worlds. Divided into three parts - Approachings, Encounters, and Distances - Conamara Blues at once reawakens a sense of intimacy with the natural world and a feeling of wonder at the mystery of our relationship to this world. Whether exploring the silent, eternal memory of Conamara or focusing on the power of language and the vagaries of human need and passion, O'Donohue tenderly reveals the fragile vulnerability of love and friendship. The result is a musical, transcendent, and deeply moving series of poems that exemplifies O'Donohue at his finest.
"John O'Donohue is the real thing: a poetic priest with the soul of a pagan." Booklist
Echoes of Memory
In this powerful, evocative collection, master storyteller, John O'Donohue explores themes of love and loss, beginnings and endings. Inspired by the ancient wisdom of the Celtic tradition and the rugged, majestic landscape of his birth, the West of Ireland, here he also creates a unique vision of a place and a time, and the echo of memory that will never fade.
"O'Donohue's books fairly plead with humankind to escape our contemporary dehumanizing traps and, in so doing, return to a spiritual heritage that includes intimacy, poetry, connectedness and compassion." The Boulder Planet
"His taut concise pieces use words and syntax with the sort of freedom that comes after mastery." Books Ireland
Four Elements: Reflections on Nature
In The Four Elements, Poet and Philosopher John O'Donohue draws upon his Celtic heritage and the love of his native landscape, the West of Ireland, to weave a tapestry of beautifully evoked images of nature. As John explores a ranges of themes relating to the way we live our lives today, he reveals how the energy and rhythm of the natural world - its innocence and creativity, its power and splendor - hold profound lessons for us all.
“In these meditations John inspires us to look again at the thought patterns and habits that we have created. He speaks about the elements in a poetic, imaginative way. He extends to them the presence of an open mind which calls forth a conversation overflowing with beauty and mystery.”
Pat O'Donohue (John's brother, book foreword)
Audio/Visual Media
Praise
"John O’Donohue is a man of the soul. His scholarly meditation on the continuing relevance of Ireland’s spiritual heritage has become a publishing phenomenon..." - London Times
Wonder, imagination and possibility were John’s great concerns, and he articulated them in his own inimitable lyrical style. The rich flow of his language - cadences, rhythms, colloquial flavouring – were a large part of John’s attraction to his radio audience.
John Quinn (RTÉ Radio Broadcaster and Friend)
We will always be grateful for the gift of John’s extraordinary presence, the discipline of his mind, and the wildness of his nature. He forged in the smithy of his soul a beautiful spirituality that is a benefit to Ireland and the contemporary world.
Fr. Martin Downey (Beloved Friend)
As with all writers whose fluency and wisdom is refreshing in its apparent spontaneity, the impression was created by years of patient thinking and reflection. He was a voracious reader; he enquired into everything and had prodigious powers of absorption and expression. It was a huge enjoyment to meet so orderly and creative a mind in such an irrepressible spirit. His priestly vocation called for a full, active presence which he provided in attentive stillness and he had an amazing, graciously energizing lucidity in public speaking and preaching.
Dr. Lelia Doolan (RTÉ Producer and Friend)
As a scientist and physician, my own mind was lit up with a spark of connection with John, ignited by our contrasts, and joined by the integration emerging in our mutual interests in exploring the nature of reality. John’s insights into the nature of the invisible world, what he would call the “mystical,” resonated powerfully in new ways with the emerging science on the deep nature of reality—of our brains, our bodies, our minds, and our relationships with people and the planet. John’s work was grounded in contemplative and scholarly study and we discovered it to be consistent with rigorous cutting-edge research. His insights continue to inspire me each day, as they may do for so many, old and new to his life’s work, through John’s powerful presence on the visible page and audible recording, opening a window to awaken us to a deeper, more joyful, and meaningful life filled by the "surprise of its own unfolding." Thank you, John, for being with us, still.
Dr. Dan Siegel (Clinical Professor, UCLA School of Medicine - Close Friend and Co-Teacher)
"O’Donohue has produced a treasury for readers of all faiths. A demanding, high-wire existentialist adventure that will inspire readers to re-evaluate their goals and ways of being in the world. O’Donohue ends each chapter with a lyrical blessing or prayer, and his book itself is a profound, healing prayer."- Publishers Weekly
No conversation I’ve ever had has been more beloved than this one with the Irish poet and philosopher, John O’Donohue. He insisted on beauty as a human calling. He had a very Celtic, lifelong fascination with the inner human landscape and what he called “the invisible world,” constantly intertwining with what we can know and see.
Krista Tippett (Host, ‘On Being’)
John was an inspired pathfinder and remains a great guide for us all.
Davy Spillane (Close Friend, Irish Composer and Musician)
For a student of Hegel who had written his PhD in German, O'Donohue found it amusing that pop stars and presidents had his book at their bedside, that Hollywood directors and household name actors sought his counsel. It confirmed his view that there is an intersection between philosophy, poetry and theology which can host an audience increasingly exiled by what he called "the frightened functionaries of institutional religion." As an accomplished poet, he had the literary tools and dazzling vocabulary to speak a language that persuaded you he was right.
Martin Wroe (The Guardian)
John was an intellectual genius with a rare and profound mystical intuition, able to articulate, both in spoken and written form, like no other, the deepest intimations of the soul and geographies of the invisible.
Dr. Máire Áine Ní Mhainnín (Eckhart Society Review)
John was not only one of the most articulate voices of living Celtic Christianity and Celtic wisdom, but he also had a clear grasp of the beauty of Christian mysticism as well. He was a trained philosopher with a prodigious intellect. He was the only person I’ve ever met who could effortlessly and lyrically weave together allusions to Martin Heidegger, Meister Eckhart, and the Tuatha Dé Danann in a single sentence.
Carl McColman (Author)
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About John O'Donohue
John O'Donohue was born in 1956, into a native Gaelic speaking family, on the farm inhabited by previous generations in the Burren Region of County Clare, Ireland. As the oldest of four children, he learned to work alongside his parents and uncle, developing a close kinship with the wild landscape, framed by an ethereal view of a limestone valley and the beckoning waters of Galway Bay. This valley was the shell of John's soul, forging a deep and powerful connection with the elements shaping him. He was educated at the local primary school, alternating his studies with the farm chores of tending livestock, raising crops and carving peat for fuel, in his youth. John later described the profound influence of his childhood home as, "A huge wild invitation to extend your imagination…an ancient conversation between the land and sea."