Page 30 - The University of Wisconsin Press Spring 2013
Basic HTML Version
S
PRING
2013
DIARIES & JOURNALS / SPIRITUALITY
A guide to mindful living, inspired by the Buddhist parable of ox herding
This is a daybook inspired by the parable of ox herding, the search for one’s true
self. For a long time, writers, artists, and students of Buddhism have found spiri-
tual guidance in the herding of the ox. This metaphorical ox herding is a guide
for a year of living and observing, arriving at awareness and understanding.
In
Ox Herding in Wisconsin
, Richard Quinney writes meditatively about his
experiences of everyday life. In the course of the seasons of a year, he carefully
notes the daily news, seasonal changes in nature, family history, personal health
and aging, poetry and music, and spiritual development. The observations and
writings of classical and contemporary writers enrich the book, offering insights
and epiphanies for the Wisconsin ox herder. Illustrated with images both found
and newly created,
Ox Herding in Wisconsin
provides sustenance for the contem-
plative journey close to home.
I know the writing that is good and severe discipline. Many times writing has
been for me about the only discipline I had or needed, and it was good. In
the telling of the story—in the writing—I have been able to consider care-
fully what I am experiencing in my life. Writing is a way to understand the
experience, to learn from it, and a way to go on.
—excerpt from
Ox Herding in Wisconsin
Richard Quinney
is the author of several books that combine autobiographical
writing and photography, including
Journey to a Far Place
,
For the Time Being
,
Borderland
,
Where Yet the Sweet Birds Sing
,
A Lifetime Burning
, and
A Farm in
Wisconsin.
His retrospective book of photographs,
Things Once Seen
, received
the August Derleth Award from the Council of Wisconsin Writers. He lives in
Madison, Wisconsin.
PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
FEBRUARY
192 PP. 5 5⁄8 X 8 1⁄8 12 B/W ILLUS.
Distributed for Borderland Books
30
THE UNIVERSIT Y OF WISCONSIN PRESS
•
PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 2008
LC: 2005904608 PS 188 PP. 5 × 7 ½
12 B/W PHOTOS
Distributed for Borderland Books
O f r e l a t e d i n t e r e s t
“Quinney continues his search for mean-
ing in an ordinary life, which he chroni-
cled in
Once Again the Wonder
. . . but here
his meditations are given urgency by the
serious progression of his chronic lym-
phocytic leukemia. Realizing that ‘life is
more precious than we can ever imagine,’
he writes a moving journal of his odyssey
through an uncertain year.”
—Publishers Weekly
