Double Ehrmann

Two Audio books out this week, both written by Max Ehrmann and narrated by myself. ‘Lifting the Veil’ originally appeared in the Harvard Graduates Magazine in 1927, and was this American writer’s longest prose inquiry into the nature of existence. He was a spiritual man, a poet and playwright, who never lost his love for nature, the night sky and long walks. His poetry always brings us back to the magnificence and beauty below the surface or behind the veil. In the title essay of this collection which I put together earlier this year, Ehrmann rejects the metaphysical tomes of Kant and Schopenhauer and returns to what he conceives as the more fundamental experience which accepts science straightforwardly but feels there is more to existence. His view is similar to that of Emerson and Thoreau full of pragmatism but with a vein of what is almost paganism or pantheism. Science engages the intellect, nature inflames the emotions, burns at the edges of the veil of Maya. The book also includes other essays by Ehrmann and biographical sketches of him by literary critics and people in his circle.
‘Worldly Wisdom Revisited: The Wisdom of Jesus Son of Sirach’ is his version, in verse, of the book of Ecclesiastes from the Christian Bible. He lost his Christianity early but maintained a respect for some of the wisdom Jesus. I wrote a long introduction to the book and it’s part of a long term plan to write a biography of this author. If you want a taste of his work take a look at ‘Desidarata’ his most famous poem which is all about taking life calmly and appreciating what you have and what there is out there if you have the eyes to see.