What I Love to Read

I love reading, and as I grow older my love has only increased.  Immediately below are listed 10 of my favorite poets; in the words of Emily Dickinson, these are my Kinsmen of the Shelf.  Below that list is a longer list of poets, authors and books that I love reading. 


My Favorite Authors 

Allama Iqbal - Jinhain Mein Dhoondta Tha

Jinhain Mein Dhondta Tha Asmanon Mein Zameenon Mein
Woh Nikle Mere Zulmat Khana-e-Dil Ke Makeenon Mein

The one I was searching for on the earth and in heaven
Appeared residing in the recesses of my own heart

Bhagat Kabir - Tu Tu Karta Tu Hua

Tu Tu Kartaa Tu Hua Mujh Mein Rahaa Na Hu
Jab Aapa Par Ka Mit Gaya Jit Dekhon Tit Tu

Saying 'You You' "I" became You
Everywhere I look, I see you

Billy Collins - The Trouble with Poetry

the trouble with poetry is
that it encourages the writing of more poetry,
more guppies crowding the fish tank,
more baby rabbits
hopping out of their mothers into the dewy grass.

Emily Dickinson - Unto my books so good to turn

UNTO my books so good to turn
Far ends of tired days;
It half endears the abstinence,
And pain is missed in praise.

Guru Nanak - Aarti (The prayer with candles and incense)

Gagan mai thāl rav cẖanḏ ḏīpak bane ṯārikā mandal janak moṯī. 
Ḏẖūp malānlo pavaṇ cẖavro kare sagal banrāe fūlanṯ joṯī. ||1|| 

The Sky is your platter,
The sun and moon are the lamps
The Stars in the sky are the pearls,
The ‘Dhoop’ (Incense) is the fragrance,
That the wind propels, the whole forest is Your flowers.

So beautiful is your aarti (prayer with candles and incense).

Jane Hirshfield - The Poet

Let her have time, and silence,
enough paper to make mistakes and go on.

Mirza Ghalib - Hazaron khwahishen aisi 

Hazaaron khwahishen aisi ke har khwahish pe dam nikle
Bohat niklay mere armaan, lekin phir bhi kam nikle

Thousands of desires, each worth dying for…
many of them I have realized…yet I yearn for more…

Rabindranath Tagore - Jodi Tor Dak Shune

Jodi tor đak shune keu na ashe tôbe êkla chôlo re
If they answer not to thy call walk alone

Walt Whitman - All is Truth

And that the truth includes all, and is compact just as much as
space is compact,
And that there is no flaw or vacuum in the amount of the truth--but
that all is truth without exception;
And henceforth I will go celebrate any thing I see or am,
And sing and laugh and deny nothing.

Tony Hoagland - Perpetual Motion

In a little while I’ll be drifting up an on-ramp,
sipping coffee from a styrofoam container,
checking my gas gauge with one eye
and twisting the dial of the radio
with the fingers of my third hand,
Looking for a station I can steer to Saturn on.

Bigger List of Authors/Books That I Love Reading

(Updated in 2021, Contemporary Writers Bolded)

Bhagwad Gita
Bhai Nandlal
Bible
Billy Collins
Bulleh Shah
David Lehman (Best American Poetry)
Dhammapada (Buddha)
Edgar Allan Poe
Emerson
Emily Dickinson
Guru Granth Sahib (see below)
Hafez
Jane Hirshfield
Kabir
Linda Hess
Mark Twain
Maulana J. Rumi
Mirabai
Mir Taqi Mir
Mirza Ghalib
Namdev 
Quran
Rabindranath Tagore
Vivekananda
Thoreau
Thomas Paine
Tony Hoagland
Walt Whitman

From the Guru Granth Sahib:

Sikh gurus

Guru Nanak 
Guru Angad 
Guru Amar 
Guru Ram 
Guru Arjan 
Guru Tegh Bahadur

Bhagats

Bhagat Kabir 
Bhagat Ravidas 
Bhagat Farid 
Bhagat Ramanand 
Bhagat Beni 
Bhagat Namdev 
Bhagat Sadhana 
Bhagat Bhikhan 
Bhagat Parmanand 
Bhagat Sain 
Bhagat Dhanna 
Bhagat Pipa 
Bhagat Surdas 
Bhagat Jaidev 
Bhagat Trilochan