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Reader Reviews | |
Review by Geoff Ward (090111) Rating (8/10) Review
by Geoff Ward While the source and nature of inspiration, whether leading to artistic or scientific genesis, may still puzzle us, the 21st-century quantum world-view, revealing the participatory structure of all energy fields, including that of our own consciousness, provides us with a new paradigm for creativity. As Kevan Manwaring says, in one description, the 'way of awen' - 'awen' being the Welsh word for poetic inspiration - is 'joining in the dance of creation', but following your own muse rather than the crowd. Could there be any better basis for the flow of inspiration into the human imagination than the quantum realm, which is quite magical in its unpredictability and indeterminacy. To be inspired is surely to connect with that divine, potent, cosmic energy, replete with potential and creativity, that surrounds all of us. Historically, the notion of transcendence has been present in the description of awen as the divine inspiration of bards in the druidic tradition. And this latest work from Kevan, a novelist, poet, storyteller and teacher, and a former Bard of the city of Bath, is all about living life creatively along this venerable path. Few writers have done more than Kevan over the years to inspire people to unlock their creative potential. Building on the foundation of his The Bardic Handbook (2006), he now explores the journey the bardic initiate must undertake. This training took 12 years in the ancient bardic colleges, but here the course is telescoped into 12 months, or lunar cycles, using the legend of Welsh bard Taliesin as a touchstone for the stages of development towards self-actualisation. The second part of The Way of Awen comprises insightful and often-revealing extracts from Kevan's journals and notebooks, detailing some of the highways and byways of his own bardic journey over two decades. Thus, unlike The Bardic Handbook, this new book is not a manual but a personal, intuitive account based on the authenticity of Kevan's own experience and 'response to the awen'.
More bards are needed to bring healing and hope to the world with
their words and music, he says, so the training process needs
to be speeded up. 'In an age of climate change, peak oil and geopolitical
tensions we need validated bards working in communities now, not
in several years time,' he says. 'Tomorrow may be too late.' |
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