Centering in Pottery, Poetry, and the Person

by Mary C. Richards

A flowing collection of poetry that is also a guide for life.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Art, Philosophy, Spirituality, Book Club, Theology

187 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

Reviews

[Amanda Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Craig Carlson a much loved professor at The Evergreen State College loaned me this book and he was lucky to get it back. Several years after he died in a tragic accident I was in a bookstore looking for something to help me through the grief of having lost a loved one of my own and found the copy he loaned me. I am certain it was the same copy. Either way the book is full of analogies between ceramics and living life.

[Eko]

I didn’t get along with the writing style. There is definitely merit in what Richards attempted to express, her voice just doesn’t jive with my own aesthetic sensibilities.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve had this book on my shelf forever, and finally got around to reading it. I’m glad I waited, actually, as I don’t think I would have understood much of it 30 years ago when I bought it. Very reminiscent of Buddhist thought. The only thing that bugged me was her use of the pronoun “he” for a generic person—I know it was written more than 60 years ago, and normally I’ll just let it slide in older books, but it really bothered me. Maybe because the author was female? I don’t know. But glad I got over it enough to finish reading. Lots of gems hidden there.

[Juniperus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even though the ideas and the imagery in this book were good (I love the parallel of centering pottery and centering yourself), there was something about the way this was written that was so inscrutable and hard to understand!

[Hannah Piette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tone is a living substance

[Natalia Cajero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disfruté algunas partes mucho más que otras, pienso que la organización de los capítulos habría funcionado si la escritura hubiera estado un poco más estructurada, menos divagante. Todo el primer capítulo es hermoso, y creo que sí vale la pena leerlo para recordar que la arcilla está viva y nos transforma de la misma forma en la que nosotros la transformamos.
<3
Viva la cerámica

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting philosophical take on two of my favourite things - poetry and pottery. Too bad I didn't have time to give this dense book the attention and thought it deserves - my 3 star rating is probably more of a reflection of my reading it in small bits and pieces rather than finding larger chunks of time to spend with these ideas.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of my favorites- amazingly enriching in offering perspective on centering in the person. Exploring consciousness, creativity, pedagogy, and experience as art. Each sentence had insights that resonated with me in the truth.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 1963 edition of this book was what I clung to during a difficult period of my life.

[Linda Buck · Rating 5 out of 5]

She had me with the explanation of the Latin word "potentia" in the introduction.

[Mary McCray · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of hippie-speak. I had to skim.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books I have had in my possession for decades, since the early 1970s when I first read it -- and have returned to it many times, probably not often enough.

[XRay RMA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

Boy, this book was spectacular. I would definitely recommend it to my friends and family. Really liked it, and the story was awesome.

[Jennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

much wisdom. this is one i re-read/refer back to frequently.