Lisa Genki Gibson's debut anthology, Becoming Now: Short Poems from a Year of Listening, offers a quiet yet powerful balm for these times. Rooted in the quiet rhythms of dawn and the deep clarity of stillness, this collection invites readers into a year-long journey of presence, wakefulness and compassion.
Each month unfolds with a series of brief, luminous poems paired with a grounding practice, guiding readers to meet life as it is- full of beauty and heartbreak, mystery and laughter, darkness and light. Through mindful attention to both the sacred and the ordinary, Lisa's writing reveals the interconnectedness that underlies all things, calling attention to the potency alive in each breath and each moment.
As readers move through the seasons, they journey with the poet in her practice of listening-to the subtle textures of everyday experience and to the wider, often urgent currents of the world. Nothing is excluded; everything belongs.
These poems serve as quiet reminders of our shared resilience and tenderness, while the accompanying practices offer pathways into deeper connection-with ourselves, each other, and the unfolding present. Through breathing, observing, softening, and even playing, Becoming Now becomes both a companion and a guide, inviting us to meet life with greater openness, curiosity, and care.