Episode 22: “What is a word?” – Language Beyond Language, Wisdom Mind Poems, and Zen Koans with Gail Sher

Hosted by Stephen Julich (EWP adjunct faculty, program manager) and Jonathan Kay (PhD student, EWP assistant)

original artwork used for this episode by Fumiyo Yoshikawa

In this episode we meet Gail Sher, an award-winning poet, writer, teacher, psychotherapist, and Zen practitioner. We discuss Gail’s cross-cultural spiritual and artistic life, including forty years of her Zen practice, the way of poetry, and more recently learning clawhammer banjo (she was a serious student of harpsichord before becoming a Zen student). The conversation discusses aspects of constructing a non-monastic contemplative lifestyle through conscious daily practice. Gail reads her late wisdom mind poem, The tethering of the mind to its five permanent qualities, and we consider her writing practice as an exploration into the nature of what a word is, and how she has attempted to activate “language beyond language” in her poems.

Gail has authored over thirty books of poetry, six book-length haiku sequences, three books on writing as a practice and a book on bread-making. Her work has appeared in over 40 literary journals, and her haiku have won awards both in the United States and Japan. Gail received lay ordination from Shunryu Suzuki Roshi in 1970. She practiced Zen at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center and San Francisco City Center alternately for 11 years. She is also a licensed Marriage and Family therapist, and has taught and supervised students in the ICP program at CIIS.  Gail is currently offering weekly dharma talks on Zen practice for lay people at GailSherDharmaTalks.com

Connect with EWP: Website • Youtube • Facebook

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The EWP Podcast credits

Produced, Edited and Mixed by: Jonathan Kay

Music set to Gail’s poem recitation, Yaksha, by Jonathan and Andrew Kay from the album Forest Dwellers, released on Monsoon-Music Record Label

Music at the end of the episode Butoh, by Jonathan and Andrew Kay from the album Forest Dwellers, released on Monsoon-Music Record Label

Introduction Voiceover: Roche Wadehra