Written to take the reader on a passionate, intuitive journey into the "deliciously bewitching" world of poetry, this book centers around a group of poems the author calls her "talismans," objects that give her a special hold on life. Arguing that such poems can illumine the paths of existence itself, the author invites readers into the worlds these poems conjure, the interior world of the poet, and into one's own interior life. Each of the book's 15 chapters introduces one or two of the author's "talisman" poems, telling the story of how it came to be so, and showing some of the many ways readers can enter a poem and understand it. The final chapter describes how to form poetry circles, providing readers with the means and the motivation to begin the rich and rewarding search for talismans of their own. The book's chapters are as follows: (1) "The Letter O...Talismans...Teachers...A Calling...And Friends"; (2) "The Three Systems of a Poem"; (3) "A Comfort Poem: 'Let Evening Come' by Jane Kenyon"; (4) "A Queen Sends an SOS: 'Wulf and Eadwacer' by an Anonymous Woman of the Middle Ages"; (5) "Self-Portraits: 'Women's Locker Room' by Marilyn Nelson and 'I Am' by John Clare"; (6) "Melancholy Deluxe: 'No Worst, There Is None' by Gerard Manley Hopkins"; (7) "Woman on a Quest: 'Question' by May Swenson"; (8) "Sex Behind a Jeweled Curtain: 'To the Tune 'Cutting a Flowering Plum Branch'' by Li Ch'ing-chao"; (9) "A Bedtime Story: 'Talking in Bed' by Philip Larkin"; (10) "Letters from Two Fathers: 'My Father's Loveletters' by Yusef Komunyakaa and 'Letters & Other Worlds' by Michael Ondaatje"; (11) "Taking a Bite: 'Asparagus' by Margaret Atwood"; (12) "Joy: 'Filling Station' by Elizabeth Bishop"; (13) "The Shimmering Verge: A Coda. 'The Fare' by Molly Peacock"; (14) "How To Start a Poetry Circle"; and (15) "Picks for Poetry Circles." (SR)