Guru Viking Podcast Ep341: Guru Viking Poetry Stream [Bonus Episode] - John Brehm and Henry Shukman
Dec 28, 2025
John Brehm, a poet and author of The Dharma of Poetry, discusses how poetry can deepen spiritual practice and evoke joy. He explores themes of erotic humor and vulnerability in his work. Alongside him, Henry Shukman emphasizes the importance of finding beauty in neglected spaces and shares how poetry can condense profound emotions into compact forms. They reflect on the interplay of spontaneity and revision in writing, while also considering poetry's social role in restoring moral sensibility and fostering community.
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Poetry Embraces Human Foibles
- John Brehm argues poetry should embrace unflattering, honest impulses rather than only exalted emotions.
- That willingness to show foibles can make poems more human and spiritually resonant.
Poem Provoked Online Backlash
- John Brehm recalled a poem, 'At the Poetry Reading,' that provoked hostile reactions online for its sexual frankness.
- He wrote it in 1990 to poke fun at poetry-reading solemnity and still values its candid self-awareness.
Sacredness Arises From Wholehearted Acceptance
- Poems that acknowledge ordinary lust or shame can be sacralizing by accepting the full range of human feeling.
- Henry Shukman and John Brehm link such acceptance to a broader sacredness in poetry.