Julian Michels

The Octopus and the Hummingbird Julian Michels

"There is a perfect tapestry. You wove it long ago when you were also perfect. The tapestry is invisible... You're going by smell now." So begins the first entry in this collection of verse by poet-philosopher and psychologist Julian Michels. What follows is a treasure trove of images and movements from the deep psyche. Suffused with influence from the mystics of the ages as well as from contemporary ceremonial and psychedelic cultures, The Octopus and the Hummingbird is less a collection of individual poems than it is a progressively deepening journey of consciousness: How does one find meaning in the energy of apocalypse? Is mystical awakening still possible without turning away from grief and involvement? Where do soulful and compassionate people turn for solace, sense, hope, and pleasure? These are some of the fundamental questions with which Michels wrestles in this debut collection.