The Wondrous Improbability of Everything ...and Yet the Necessity of Love

This is a watershed collection of poems by Jonathan Klate who has been writing poetry and songs for over 50 years. He has produced two albums of music comprising 25 original compositions spanning folk, blues, rock, jazz, and neo-Celtic genres, the CD's Forever Now and The Muse at the Edge of Forever. He was for years a featured public affairs columnist for the Daily Hampshire Gazette and his work has appeared in various national and regional publications including Tikkun magazine. He has also been the host of public affairs radio shows on various radio stations including NPR affiliate WFCR. The breadth of subject and interest in this volume is uncommon, as is the versatility of language and genre. All of the writing emerges from an abiding spiritual consciousness tempered with unflinching humanistic realism. The bulk of the work features a universal spiritual awareness profoundly influenced by explorations of mystical consciousness particularly thought the lens of Buddhist thought. This collection also includes a selection of poignant expressions of personal history including those informed by the death of the poet's son, and also a selection of penetrating poetry relating to political and world affairs. In addition to free verse, Jonathan is comfortable writing in classical rhyme and meter and this volume includes a selection of lyrical poems, sonnets, and ballads. Jonathan Klate is among the most senior practitioners of traditional acupuncture and Chinese medicine, his principal vocation for over 40 years, the author of a classic book in this field, The Tao of Acupuncture, and was the creator of the Spirit Path feature of The Journal of Traditional Acupuncture. He continues to maintain a practice in Amherst, Massachusetts.