BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL

In BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL, word-wrangler extraordinaire Phil Cousineau has gathered an eclectic and electric collection of soulful poems and prose from great thinkers throughout the ages in an anthology guaranteed to relieve any insomniac's midnight misery.

Whether beguiling readers with glorious poetry or consoling them with prayers from fellow restless souls, Cousineau has curated writings from St. John of the Cross to Annie Dillard, Beethoven to The Song of Songs, in a refreshingly insightful anthology soothes and inspires all who struggle through the dark of the night. The night writers in Cousineau's collection range from saints, poets, and shamans to astronomers and naturalists. It is full of ancient tales and shining passages from the most brilliant (albeit insomniac) writers of today who sing of the falling darkness, revel in dream-time, convey the ache of melancholy, conspire against sleeplessness, vanquish loneliness, contemplate the night sky, rhapsodize on love, and languorously greet the first rays of dawn. Notable night owls include Rabandranath Tagore, Mary Oliver, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Sappho, Rumi, Borges, Blake, Kazantzakis, and so many more. Phil Cousineau is an award-winning writer and filmmaker, teacher and editor, independent scholar and travel leader, storyteller and TV host. The author of 26 nonfiction books, including two other bestselling titles for Viva: Wordcatcher, and The Painted Word. Jeff "The Dude" Dowd is an American film producer and political activist best known as a member of the "Seattle Seven," who went to jail (briefly, for contempt of court) following a violent protest against the Vietnam war. He later moved to Los Angeles and became an independent movie producer and promoter. He met the Coen Brothers while they were promoting their first film, "Blood Simple." He is the basis for one of their most popular characters, Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski from The Big Lebowski. In 2011, Dowd was the subject of an 18-minute documentary-short directed by Jeff Feuerzeig and broadcast on the USA Network as part of its “Character” series.