I grew up in the cleft of a Cotswold valley on the edge of Bath, England. Living in the shadow of an ancient stone circle, I always felt us to be creatures with one foot in this world and one in another, less visible one. To weave these two realms – this gritty world of action and the world of silence, imagination, and being – into one cloth, rich with meaning, is what I feel we are here for. Poetry, art, meditation and also travel have given me a language for this experience of a life deeply felt, and also an entry directly into it.
Castle Combe, near Bath, England
I have led contemplative journeys all over the world: walking in silence through the Sahara Desert, and through Death Valley; following the pilgrim route down the Ganges; to the Himalayan kingdom of Ladakh, and to the great artistic sites of Italy. I have written feature articles on the arts for The Guardian newspaper in the UK and have been an interviewer for BBC radio. As well as giving poetry recitals, lectures and seminars at conferences and for the general public, I occasionally give presentations in the corporate sphere on the transformational power of poetry and the life of meaning.
My first book was published in 1990, and as of 2010, I have published nineteen books. One of my recent works, Seven Sins For a Life Worth Living, is an unusual reflection on the nature of pleasure, including the pleasure of doing nothing – “the creative pause” – and the pleasure of not being perfect. Maria Sharapova, the tennis star, has called it “one of the most inspirational books I have ever read.” My work has been featured many times in The Oprah Magazine, in The New York Times, and in the Los Angeles Times. I now live in Marin County, over the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.
View from Roger’s door in Sausalito.
