Notes on Water - by David Appelbaum (Paperback)

About the Book

Lyrical weave of poetry, philosophy, literary and cultural references, myth, folklore, legend-- on water as source of life, creativity, rebirth.

Book Synopsis

With subtle wit, provocative language, and wisdom gleaned from myth, science, and religion, David Appelbaum sees in water the key to harmonious living, oneness with nature, and perception of the essential. Ultimately, Notes on Water is about the journey of surrender to the forces of vitality and spirituality.

David Appelbaum is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at SUNY, New Paltz. He is the author of many books, including Jacques Derrida's Ghost: A Conjuration and The Delay of the Heart. He is a graduate of Harvard, past senior editor at Parabola, and founder of Codhill Press.

Review Quotes

"As William Blake found 'a world in a grain of sand, ' in this brilliant book David Appelbaum discovers the universe in a drop of water. Drawing on mythology, nature, and science, he combines a poet's appreciation with a philosopher's discernment to explore the universal element of water and its resonances, reaching rare depths of understanding. Those in search of meaning will benefit greatly from allowing the words of this accomplished author to flow like the liquid he loves into their minds and hearts." --Jeff Zaleski, editor and publisher of Parabola

"Appelbaum, whom we must thank for his work at New Paltz's Codhill Press as well as for his poetry, acquits himself well, writing of big topics with a light hand using a spare, short line." --Chronogram on Window with 4 Panes

"Appelbaum's words--these humble 'notes on water'--are what they speak of. As Becket would say, 'no symbols where none intended.' This is masterly, original work, filled with life, requiring and deserving repeated readings: a philosophical, cosmological, always poetical and phenomenologically-lived accounting of our beginnings and our ends, both large and small." --Chris Bamford, Editor in Chief for SteinerBooks, author of The Voice of the Eagle and An Endless Trace

"The writing of David Appelbaum is a hidden treasure in our midst. Is it poetry? Is it philosophy? Can such a division matter with words so liquid and so beautiful? We all love and need water, and with this book we can pour it with a bit more fluidity. This may be his best and most accessible work, the culmination of a lifetime of the precise exploration of the most sensory elements of the human world." --David Rothenberg, author of Survival of the Beautiful and Why Birds Sing, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Music, New Jersey Institute of Technology

"This is a brilliant and striking example of the sustained poetic critique that contemporary critical theory inspires. Appelbaum admirably fulfills the literary mission that Derrida declared for philosophy." --Henry Sussman on Jacques Derrida's Ghost

"While most books are 10 percent original insight spread through 90 percent of other stuff, this book is more than 90 percent fresh illumination. The brilliance of such originality glows. It reads beautifully, like a poetic narrative, a gentle meditation, an inviting reverie." --Robert Ginsberg, The Pennsylvania State University, on Everyday Spirits

About the Author

David Appelbaum is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at New Paltz. He is the author of many books, including "A Propos, Levinas"; "Jacques Derrida's Ghost: A Conjuration"; and The "Delay of the Heart". He is a graduate of Harvard, past senior editor at Parabola, and founder of Codhill Press.