Top of My Lungs

by Natalie Goldberg

The author of Writing Down the Bones presents meditations on the shifting rhythms of interior life and the wondrous simultaneity of all things, in a collection that features full-color reproductions of her original artwork and an introduction under the title, "How Poetry Saved My Life." Reprint. 17,500 first printing.

Genres: Poetry, Art, Memoir, Nonfiction, Writing

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Natalie Goldberg lived in Brooklyn until she was six, when her family moved out to Farmingdale, Long Island, where her father owned the bar the Aero Tavern. From a young age, Goldberg was mad for books and reading, and especially loved Carson McCullers's The Ballad of the Sad Cafe , which she read in ninth grade. She thinks that single book led her eventually to put pen to paper when she was twenty-four years old. She received a BA in English literature from George Washington University and an MA in humanities from St. John's University.

Goldberg has painted for as long as she has written, and her paintings can be seen in Living Color: A Writer Paints Her World and Top of My Lungs: Poems and Paintings. They can also be viewed at the Ernesto Mayans Gallery on Canyon Road in Sante Fe.

A dedicated teacher, Goldberg has taught writing and literature for the last thirty-five years. She also leads national workshops and retreats, and her schedule can be accessed via her website: nataliegoldberg.com

In 2006, she completed with the filmmaker Mary Feidt a one-hour documentary, Tangled Up in Bob, about Bob Dylan's childhood on the Iron Range in Northern Minnesota. The film can be obtained on Amazon or the website tangledupinbob.com.

Goldberg has been a serious Zen practitioner since 1974 and studied with Katagiri Roshi from 1978 to 1984.

Reviews

[Danielle Palmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the poems more than the art.

[HeavyReader · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like Natalie Goldberg's poetry as much as I thought I would. I didn't understand a lot of it. What the hell is she talking about? I was also confused by the fact she doesn't use end punctuation. No periods. How do we know where a thought ends?

Her paintings are very bright and have a childlike air to them. I neither hate nor love them.

Color me indifferent.

[Kelly D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't say I understood all of them, but they were emotionally honest and beautiful.

[Cherie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my fave NG.

[ALICIA MOGOLLON · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I can't remember details of these particular poems, I always absolutely adore Natalie Goldberg's poetry, her cadence is always flowing and invigorating, her metaphor and imagery vivid and alive. She always inspires me. I think I remember in particular a poem about her grandfather or father in this book but it could have been another.

[Lindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an example of a journey in pictures and poetry. Memoir and writing from life at the top of your lungs may be the only way to express oneself. This can be used as one author's way of doing expressing that which goes beyond just words.

[Frances · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read all of Natalie Goldberg's books and have waited a long time to get Top of My Lungs so that I could read her poetry. It was very much like what I would have expected after reading her books. Very down to Earth and realistic. I enjoyed it.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful poems and paintings!

[Debbie Petersen Wolven · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a big fan of Natalie Goldberg. Liked the paintings and poetry in this one but nothing jumped out to me like her other books.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

So so so good. Jewish and New Mexico. Relevant and bold.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Writing Down the Bones and found Dharma Bums, Jack Kerouac and zen. These poems resonated strongly for me. Powerful, moving and somehow still, part of everyday life...

[ALICIA MOGOLLON · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful book of poetry and art.