The Bluebonnet Sutras
by Laurence Musgrove
The wisdom tradition of Buddhism has influenced many American poets, including Gary Snyder, Jane Hirshfield, and Sam Hamill. In The Bluebonnet Sutras, Laurence Musgrove traces through verse his study of Buddhism, meditation, and mindfulness in the relatively isolated expanses of West Texas. With no retreat centers or meditation teachers nearby, he documents his spiritual journey in original sutras, calling into dialogue the imagined persona of the Buddha. These poems address many of the foundational truths of Buddhist study, including impermanence, human suffering, and selflessness. They also show an established professor and student of Buddhism struggling to develop and maintain a meditation practice, sustained and generous attention, and a fearless engagement with a beautifully imperfect world.
Order from any bookstore, local or online. This title is also available from of Galveston, Texas.
About the Author
Author of the poetry collection Local Bird, Laurence Musgrove is professor of English at Angelo State University where he teaches creative writing, literature, drawing to learn, comics, and mindfulness. His poems have appeared in Southern Indiana Review, Concho River Review, descant, Elephant Journal, Inside Higher Ed, Buddhist Poetry Review, Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning, Southwestern American Literature, Ink Brick, and New Texas. He is also co-editor with Terry Dalrymple of the anthology Texas Weather, a collection of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction on the power and beauty of weather in the Lone Star State.