Zen Pessimism

A collection of poems, essays, and drawings that offers a new, alternative idea of Zen, a modern Zen that is aware of global warming and its dire consequences, a Zen that is troubling, a Zen that offers no escape, this book is for anyone who wants a clear opinion of reality and the current human condition, and what it means to be "awake" today. Offering the reader a more thorough way to experience the topic through a variety of aesthetic writing and visual approaches, it is certainly not for everybody, but it is for anyone who likes to be jolted by an unconventional literary and artistic experience. For some readers, it will not only provoke thought, but it will change their lives.

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Contents
Poetry

Tree Songs ~ 11
Buddha’s Villanelle ~ 12
Zen Regrets ~ 13
Grace Notes ~ 19
Sound Alone ~ 20
A Balloon in a Child’s Hand ~ 21
Pluck ~ 32
Honor’s Grip ~ 39
Happiness Research ~ 48
The Only True Actor ~ 54
Get It Over With! ~ 56
All the Answers ~ 69
No Poem ~ 70
On Escalators ~ 74
Curating Statues at Home ~ 75
Bad Life ~ 82
Disappointment ~ 88
Name Dropping ~ 89
The Luck of Fools ~ 91

Essays

Just Zen Time ~ 1
A Defense of Pure Abstract Art ~ 15
Zen Mistake ~ 24
The Other Side of the Duplicitous Self ~ 33
Astrology Holes ~ 42
Not Paid Money to Write This Essay ~ 49
Wrong Story Hell ~ 57
The Looker ~ 72
My Self-Hurt Book ~ 78
Knew, Know ~ 85

Appendix

How to Become More Spiritual by Creating Meaningful Abstract Art

Acknowledgments

Allium: “My Self-Hurt Book”
American Dissident: “Not Paid Money to Write This Essay,”
“Astrology Holes”
Blind Man’s Rainbow: “How to Become More Spiritual by Creating Meaningful Abstract Art”
Blue Collar Review: “Happiness Research,” “The Only True Actor”
California Quarterly: “Tree Songs”
Evening Street Review: “Sound Alone”
Front Range Review: “Name Dropping”
Havik: “Zen Regrets”
Invisible City: “The Looker”
Lilliput: “On Escalators”
Main Street Rag: “The Luck of Fools”
Phoenix: “Wrong Story Hell”
Plainsongs: “Disappointment,”
“No Poem”
Rattle: “Buddha’s Villanelle”
Soundings East: "Zen Mistake"
Steam Ticket: “Pluck”
THEMA: “Get It Over With!”
Time of Singing: “Grace Notes”
Trajectory: “Just Zen Time,”
“The Other Side of the Duplicitous Self”
Two Thirds North: “Bad Life"
Wayne Literary Review: "A Balloon in a Child's Hand”