In the Belly of a Laughing God PDF Download

Author: Jennifer Andrews
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 0802035671
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
In the Belly of a Laughing God examines how eight contemporary Native women poets in Canada and the United States employ humour and irony to address the intricacies of race, gender, and nationality.

Author: J Anvari
Publisher: J Anvari
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 291

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Book Description
From post-colonial India to New York City, from the land of the Navajo in the Southwest to unforgiving orbital space, The Laughing God tells the astonishing story of Doctor Joseph RamuPandu, a half American - half Indian, brilliant psychiatrist turned holistic guru who follows an unlikely and often comical path in his frantic search for spiritual enlightenment. In the milieu of the newly born nation's conflicting religious traditions, the infant Joseph is raised concurrently as a Hindu, a Muslim, and a Christian, and becomes preoccupied by “Gods, demons, and spirits”. The collision of these powerful elements leads the grown-up Joseph to devote himself to a life of austerity and service. His attempts to minister to the sick provoke disaster when a simple act is interpreted as a miracle and an avid, unwanted adoration follows. Wherever he goes, people flock to the swami psychiatrist with the saintly face. Joseph seems either destined or doomed to attract followers. When he fails to find peace or enlightenment in India, he continues his quest in New York City at the invitation of an American Dean of Holistic Medicine who sees the Indian doctor as a guru for unhappy Westerners looking to the east for spiritual wisdom. Before long Joseph finds himself caring for a set of psychotic patients at M’Naghten Psychiatric Hospital: a deranged Senator in permanent campaign mode; a homicidal federal judge; a furious Rabbi who sometime believes he is God; a gypsy woman with a Jesus fixation; a senile old storyteller and Zamba, a hip schizophrenic with a bizarre world view. The lively bunch is quickly drawn to Joseph, basking in the peace of his presence. Into this circus of madmen comes Hastiin Nayachai, a Native American professor of astronomy who suffers psychotic breakdowns and predicts an apocalypse of stars in a galactic cluster. Touched by insanity, haunted by ancestral drums, and obsessed with the death of stars, he hears the voice of the Great Spirit calling him home to regain the balance and peace of mind that eludes him. In Nayachai, Joseph sees a disturbing reflection of his own quest and finds himself drawn ever deeper into his patient's enthralling delusions. It is this eccentric scientist Nayachai who by drawing Joseph along his own path of delusion and soul seeking, ultimately brings our protagonist to the place and the godly answers he seeks reside. The powerful relationship that grips the two goes beyond the boundaries of sanity and leaves the crusading psychiatrist wondering whether he’s achieved spiritual enlightenment or himself succumbed to madness.

Author: Ingvild Saelid Gilhus
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134717679
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 199

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Book Description
Laughing Gods, Weeping Virgins analyses how laughter has been used as a symbol in myths, rituals and festivals of Western religions, and has thus been inscribed in religious discourse. The Mesopotamian Anu, the Israelite Jahweh, the Greek Dionysos, the Gnostic Christ and the late modern Jesus were all laughing gods. Through their laughter, gods prove both their superiority and their proximity to humans. In this comprehensive study, Professor Gilhus examines the relationship between corporeal human laughter and spiritual divine laughter from c`ussical antiquity, to the Christian West and the modern era. She combines the study of the history of religion with social-scientific approaches, to provide an original and pertinent exploration of a universal human phenomenon, and its significance for the development of religions.

Author: Hafiz
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780143037811
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 116

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Book Description
From bestselling poet Daniel Ladinsky, a rich collection that brings the great Sufi poet Hafiz to Western readers To Persians, the poems of Hafiz are not “classical literature” from a remote past but cherished wisdom from a dear and intimate friend that continues to be quoted in daily life. With uncanny insight, Hafiz captures the many forms and stages of love. His poetry outlines the stages of the mystic's “path of love”—a journey in which love dissolves personal boundaries and limitations to join larger processes of growth and transformation. With this stunning collection, Ladinsky has succeeded brilliantly in capturing the essence of one of Islam’s greatest poetic and spiritual voices. “If you haven’t yet had the delight of dining with Daniel Ladinsky’s sweet, playful renderings of the musings of the great saints, I Heard God Laughing is a perfect appetizer. . . . This newly released edition of his first playful foray into Hafiz’s divinely inspired poetry is essential reading. . . . Ladinsky is a master who will be remembered for finally bringing Hafiz alive in the West.” —Alexandra Marks, The Christian Science Monitor

Author: Carolyn Arends
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
ISBN: 0736920617
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
Life is messy. But life is also beautiful. These are the twin themes that author/artist Carolyn Arends (writer of ten Top 10 Christian songs) opens up in her searching exploration of how God meets people in the ordinary moments of life, part of the ConversantLife.com line of books. This humorous, tender, and passionate collection of personal stories illustrate the mysterious ways that God works to bring people through life's struggles and discover the amazing power of grace. Why the birth of her child and the death of a friend gave her a new perspective What a prairie storm and the beauty of a bright red canyon can teach people about God How mismatched shoes and Bach oratorios can give readers a glimpse into a deeper mystery Fans of Don Miller and Anne Lamott will discover a kindred spirit in Carolyn and her transparent and gutsy meditations on life's unanswered questions and the One who can be found there. Formerly titled "Living the Questions"

Author: Kate Merrick
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 0718093097
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
Kate Merrick examines the Bible’s gritty stories of resilient women as well as her own experience losing a child—a journey followed by more than a million on prayfordaisy.com—to reveal the reality of surprising joy and deep hope even in the midst of heartache. Is it possible live fully—even joyfully—in the middle of overwhelming pain? In the excruciating aftermath of her young daughter’s death from cancer, Kate Merrick struggled to find a way to live. Not just to survive or go through the motions, but to live fully. Faithfully. With real joy amid inevitable tears. To discover how, Kate delved into the stories in the Bible of real women who suffered deeply and emerged somehow joyful. How did Sarah, after twenty-five years of achingly empty arms, learn to laugh without bitterness? How did Bathsheba, defiled by the king who then had her husband killed, come to walk in strength and dignity, to smile without fear of the future? In her encounters with these heroines of the faith, Kate discovered how to have contentment—and even joy—whatever the circumstances. By turns heartbreaking and humorous, And Still She Laughs reveals the secret to finding hope in the midst of devastation. In the end, no matter what hardships we face, we can smile, cry, and come away full—laughing without fear and eagerly looking for what is to come. “And Still She Laughs is the terrifying, tearful, heartbreaking, heart healing and humorous, definitive true story of survival and triumph.” —Kathy Ireland, chair of Kathy Ireland Worldwide “Kate Merrick is one of those women that I always wish I had more time with—her honesty, sincerity, and messy straightforwardness are different, in the very best way. Her book, And Still She Laughs, is the same way. It’s one of those books I will keep coming back to it for truth and inspiration.” —Lindsey Nobles, COO of the IF:Gathering

Author: Diana Loomans
Publisher: H J Kramer
ISBN: 9780915811991
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
Loomans, creator of The Laughing Classroom programs, and Kolberg, founder of the Comedy Sportz improvisation theater company, describe how to build education on a foundation of silliness. They do not provide an index. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Author: Neal McLeod
Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press
ISBN: 1771120096
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
Indigenous Poetics in Canada broadens the way in which Indigenous poetry is examined, studied, and discussed in Canada. Breaking from the parameters of traditional English literature studies, this volume embraces a wider sense of poetics, including Indigenous oralities, languages, and understandings of place. Featuring work by academics and poets, the book examines four elements of Indigenous poetics. First, it explores the poetics of memory: collective memory, the persistence of Indigenous poetic consciousness, and the relationships that enable the Indigenous storytelling process. The book then explores the poetics of performance: Indigenous poetics exist both in written form and in relation to an audience. Third, in an examination of the poetics of place and space, the book considers contemporary Indigenous poetry and classical Indigenous narratives. Finally, in a section on the poetics of medicine, contributors articulate the healing and restorative power of Indigenous poetry and narratives.

Author: Janet Palmer Mullaney
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 9780472066803
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 124

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Book Description
Frank and lively conversations with some of our finest contemporary women poets. These interviews have been culled from the pages of BELLES LETTRES REVIEW OF BOOKS BY WOMEN, a pioneering journal that for 12 years has brought to light the best of women's writing. Subjects covered are consistently engaging and as varied as the poets themselves.

Author: Quin Hillyer
Publisher: Liberty Island
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description
Meet Mad Jones, a high school history teacher who, in the midst of unspeakable tragedy, literally nails religious theses to church doors. He does so with no expectation that they will be taken seriously, or even widely read – but, in this age of modern electronic communications and instant celebrity, young Madison Jones very quickly develops a large following and engenders significant levels of controversy. The media, quite typically, misunderstand and misrepresent his ultimate message; religious leaders debate his theses, at times with ulterior motives; and soon politicians are jumping in to comment from whichever standpoint best fits their partisan purposes. Mad Jones, Heretic delivers sharp satire on modern religion, politics, and media, all at the same time, along with insightful representations of the vagaries of today’s celebrity culture and the lunacy of Internet comment threads. Controversies surrounding race and sexual morality enter in as well. Additionally, its setting at the end of the 20th Century, in the midst of the Y2K computer scare, provides the perfect vehicle to dissect millennialist themes as well. Underlying all of this are some very serious theological reflections, woven naturally through a plot filled with sympathetic and memorable characters. Ultimately, true character – both good and bad – reveals itself, and both faith and human decency are tested once again. Grace and redemption, though, are always possible.