Poet and philosopher Mark Nepo will give a publication reading for his new book of poems, Reduced to Joy, on Tuesday, November 19, at 7PM in Stetson Chapel at Kalamazoo College. The event is free and open to the public. The new book, just out from Viva Editions, contains 73 poems retrieved and shaped over the last 13 years. Wrote Nepo: “These poems explore the nature of working with what we’re given until it wears us through to joy.”

“Mark Nepo’s poems reduce me first to grateful silence, and then to tears, and then to laughter, and then to praise,” says Elizabeth Lesser, co-founder of the Omega Institute and author of Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow. “He joins a long tradition of truth-seeking, wild-hearted poets—Rumi, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Mary Oliver-—and deserves a place in the center of the circle with them.” Nepo has taught in the fields of poetry and spirituality for 40 years. The New York Times bestselling author has published 14 books and recorded eight audio projects. His work has been translated into more than 20 languages.

In a recent two-part interview with Oprah Winfrey, Nepo shares his thoughts on embracing the moment, the power of listening, and more.