The Mysticism of Stone

By Ismana Carney and John Carney

After reading The Mysticism of Stone, you will never look at stones in the same way and your perception of our world’s bones will be irrevocably altered. Ismana Carney’s poems are a jubilant exploration of new realms of perception, feeling, and thought, an opportunity to experience the world of stone as a living kingdom of myth, story, vivid sensations and deep musings. This collection of poems calls us back to kinship with the living Earth, where stones remind us that we are born of fire, born of stars. With the evocative language of passion, and pain, ancient legend, of loss and celebration, and “down to stone silence, before the first word was spoken,” Ismana Carney speaks from the heart. The words themselves are revelations, love songs to distant mountains, ancient citadels, and the enduring presence of stone. Like an incantation, the poetess speaks words that awaken wonder and longing, calling us toward transcendent mystical union with the timeless sentience of the power and spirit of place. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Outskirts Press
• Release date: Nov 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9781977270627

Ismana Carney

Ismana Carney, PhD has taught college courses in World History and Psychology and directed Student Support Services programs in Higher Education. She has produced documentary films on Native American culture and spirituality: We Pray with Tobacco; Chief Mountain Hot Shots: Firefighters of the Blackfeet Nation; and Iron Lodge: Native American Spirituality Behind Bars. She has also authored Women’s Ways with Fire: Transforming Self in the Heart of Nature, Outskirts Press, 2019 and Sacred Laws, Spiritual Healing & Doctoring Songs: Interviews with Bernice Torrez (Kashaya Pomo). Outskirts Press, 2015. 

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