Joy in the journey: a book of Dharma is the kind of book that a reader can get lost in. One can almost feel the mind and heart expanding with every Dharma. Mr. Kuhl’s writing is so vivid, his choice of language so fluid, that the reader is transported to a beautiful place that delights the senses and explores the human psyche with beauty and insight. Along the way, we step into the world of each Dharma as if we were there; each sight or sound or feeling a visceral experience. — Jody Kanikula
I encourage you to take your time with this collection. Read, savor, contemplate, repeat. This is a book of poetry that belongs in your backpack, rather than on your bookshelf. — Karen Fullett-Christensen, Aurora Poet Laureate Emeritus
Joy in the Journey: A Book of Dharma, by Christopher Kuhl, is a delightful invitation to move “from our current state of confusion and unhappiness to a state of awareness and joy,” through the poems which serve to “firmly hold or support us” on our way. Profound yet accessible, they reveal the great challenge to find meaning and purpose in everyday life. The few words which comprise each Dharma are artfully and beautifully fashioned to reveal the mysteries which surround us, things that can delight and renew our spirits, that give us hope in our often less-than-hopeful daily grind. Let them lead you into a place where you’ve never been but then won’t want to leave. Awareness and joy, being held firmly and supported on the way: Sounds great, and Kuhl helps you get there. — The Rev. Michael D. Rasicci, Rector, Calvary Episcopal Church, Batavia, IL, Friend of the Dharma Poet
Kuhl’s writing focuses intensely on how people deal with change: our coming of age, how we process grief, how we cope with death, our own upcoming demise in addition to the death of others. Kuhl’s depiction of the human condition and our relationship with time reveal a deep spirituality.
Kuhl’s life as a poet in a small town appears frequently in his work. His connection to a rural, natural setting is evident as he is originally from the northern Adirondacks. Kuhl now writes in a small river town in Illinois, where he has lived for the last 32 years.
In addition to several collections of poetry, Christopher Kuhl has published in a wide range of online and print publications, including Prairie Schooner; Tulane Review; Alabama Literary Review; Big Muddy; Round Magazine; Frigg Magazine; Evening Street Press and Broad River Review. He also has several poems coming out later in 2020, including “Oasis,” in Sanskrit Magazine; and “Pastoral: The Poet, the World, the Word,” and “They Look Like People, But They Ain’t” (Paragon Journal). He has also written some short fiction, one piece of which, “Wade,” won Editor’s Choice in the 2016 issue of Inscape Magazine, and has been a guest blogger for Superstition Review.