Talk on Art Making

First talk in series on the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare.

Second talk in series on the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare.

Chris Fortin gives this third talk in a series on the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare.

Fourth talk in a series on the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare.

Talk on Language Poetry and War

"These are incendiary poems...like fire-bombs..." Norman describes Leaves of Grass as "one of the great manifestos of American literature," discussing the work's relevance to mystical and Buddhist thought.

"These are incendiary poems...like fire-bombs..." Norman describes Leaves of Grass as "one of the great manifestos of American literature," discussing the work's relevance to mystical and Buddhist thought.

Norman reads his unedited poems from his trip to Japan in July 2010 with a number of Everyday Zen priests.

"Losing. Letting Go. It's interesting right? The difference in nuance? Actually, I thought it was kind of funny. 'Losing' does sound awfully negative, and even as Buddhists, we don't want to be losers, right?"

Norman reviews his friend Philip Whalen's collected work.

What does old man Zhaozhou have to say about the way we approach our everyday lives? How can we learn to listen to the music of our lives?

In this essay for Shambhala Sun magazine, Norman writes about the pain and bewilderment of losing his closest friend, and offers concrete advice and ways to work with loss. The title, "The Raw Spot," refers to the teaching by Chogyam Trungpa on embryonic compassion, which grows from the sore or raw or wounded spot in our bodies and hearts.

"This is a difficult piece I wrote for "enough" a poetry journal published especially in protest of the bombing of Afghanistan. While its point is difficult, and maybe too extreme, I think it is an interesting piece and says some things that are important to me."

Norman's eagerly awaited book about Homer's Odyssey and the metaphor of homecoming, from a Zen perspective. "Norman Fischer deftly incorporates Buddhist, Judaic, Christian, and popular thought, as well as his own unique and sympathetic understanding of life, in his reinterpretation of Odysseus's familiar wanderings as lessons that everyone can use. We see how to resist the seduction of the Sirens' song to stop sailing and give up; how to bide our time in a situation and wait for the right opportunity -- as Odysseus does when faced with the murderous, one-eyed Cyclops; and how to reassess our story and rediscover our purpose and identity if, like the Lotus-Eaters, we have forgotten the past."