What’s Don Quixote doing on that scrawny nag–is an IOU being issued from the next holon? What does his creator, Miguel de Cervantes, have to say about vision-logic? Was Emily Dickinson teal? Is there any writer of literature that could address us from the causal or even possibly the nondual–perhaps Li Po or other Chinese hermit poets? What about John Donne and the other so-called Metaphysical Poets of England–where would we place them? This is an invitation to explore together the mapping of Integral Theory onto the art form of the written (and spoken) word–something that Ken Wilber has proposed long ago. We will have an initial meeting to determine interest, find common ground, and read a few poems and prose excerpts together. I hope to present my admittedly unproved thesis that those old chestnuts of literature, such as Melville’s “Moby Dick,” Tolstoy’s “War and Peace,” and Shakespeare’s oeuvre remain great because they inhabit all four quadrants with vibrancy and authenticity.

MEET YOUR HOST

Roberta Werdinger is a poet, essayist and Zen priest ordained in the tradition of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. With an MA in English Literature, she reads widely in various forms of literature, and falls helplessly in love with almost every book she opens. Born and raised in Chicago and a long-time Northern California resident, she writes, edits, conducts research, and otherwise assists writers.