Leading from Within is a wonderful collection of ninety-three poems from well-loved poets, each of which is accompanied by a brief personal commentary from a leader explaining the significance and meaning of the poem in his or her life and work. The contributors represent a wide range of professions including Vanguard Group founder John Bogle, MoveOn.org cofounder Joan Blades, several members of Congress, Christian activist Brian McLaren, business guru Peter Senge, and many other leaders from business, medicine, education, nonprofits, law, politics and government, and religion. In their reflections, these leaders explore how they have been inspired by poets such as T.S. Eliot, Mary Oliver, William Stafford, Langston Hughes, Pablo Neruda, Robert Frost, Rumi, May Sarton, Wallace Stevens, Wendell Berry, and Rainer Maria Rilke. "e;Leading from Within is perhaps the most soulful treatment of leadership ever composed. Leadership is first an inner quest, and there is absolutely no better place to explore your inner territory than in the pages of this book. This is an evocative work of art; do yourself an immense favor, and engage with these amazing and diverse leaders and their poems."e; Jim Kouzes, coauthor of the bestselling The Leadership Challenge and A Leader's Legacy "e;Leading from Within makes brilliant use of the world's great poets to inspire us to lead with our hearts as well as our heads. It calls to the deeper purpose and meaning within all of us to use our gifts to serve others."e; Bill George, author, True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership "e;This is a superb collection of poems and deeply personal reflections from a wide range of real leaders. It is a gift to all of us who believe in bringing our hearts to our work."e; Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) "e;The entries in this wonderful anthology are a joy to read and all the more interesting because of their special meaning to the leaders who recommended them. It is a book that every nonprofit leader should place among those they draw upon for inspiration every day."e; Diana Aviv, president and CEO, Independent Sector "e;Leading from Within offers a candid view straight into the heart and soul of leaders striving to do good and effective work in the world. The poems and commentaries remind us that leadership is always deeply personal and chock-full of dilemmas that must be addressed by creativity, passion, imagination, and courage."e; Jeff Swartz, president and CEO, Timberland

Sam M. Intrator is a professor at Smith College and founder of the Smith College Urban Education Initiative. A Kellogg National Leadership Fellow, he is the author/editor of five books, including Tuned In and Fired Up, Teaching with Fire, and Stories of the Courage to Teach.

Megan Scribner is an editor who also documents and evaluates programs for nonprofits. She is the coeditor of Teaching with Fire and coauthor with Parker J. Palmer of The Courage to Teach Guide for Reflection and Renewal, Tenth Anniversary Edition.

"Leading from Within is perhaps the most soulful treatment of leadership ever composed. Leadership is first an inner quest, and there is absolutely no better place to explore your inner territory than in the pages of this book. This is an evocative work of art; do yourself an immense favor, and engage with these amazing and diverse leaders and their poems."
Jim Kouzes, coauthor of the bestselling The Leadership Challenge and A Leader's Legacy

"Leading from Within makes brilliant use of the world's great poets to inspire us to lead with our hearts as well as our heads. It calls to the deeper purpose and meaning within all of us to use our gifts to serve others."
Bill George, author, True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership

"This is a superb collection of poems and deeply personal reflections from a wide range of real leaders. It is a gift to all of us who believe in bringing our hearts to our work." Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.)

"The entries in this wonderful anthology are a joy to read and all the more interesting because of their special meaning to the leaders who recommended them. It is a book that every nonprofit leader should place among those they draw upon for inspiration every day."
Diana Aviv, president and CEO, Independent Sector

"Leading from Within offers a candid view straight into the heart and soul of leaders striving to do good and effective work in the world. The poems and commentaries remind us that leadership is always deeply personal and chock-full of dilemmas that must be addressed by creativity, passion, imagination, and courage."
Jeff Swartz, president and CEO, Timberland

Foreword by Madeleine K. Albright xv

A Note to Our Readers by Sam M. Intrator and Megan Scribner xix

Introduction by Parker J. Palmer xxv

Called 1

Alfred Lord Tennyson's "Ulysses"
reflection by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., president, Waterkeeper Alliance 2

Emily Dickinson's "'Hope' is the thing with feathers" [Excerpt]
reflection by Nicole Gagnon, college student leader 6

Langston Hughes's "Madam's Calling Card"
reflection by Kyle Dodson, high school principal 8

William Stafford's "The Way It Is"
reflection by Michael Intrator, managing director, emissions trading company 10

William Carlos Williams's "Asphodel, That Greeny Flower" [Excerpt]
reflection by Peter S. Temes, president, ILO Institute 12

Reinhold Niebuhr's "The Irony of American History" [Excerpt]
reflection by Rosemary Jordano Shore, founder, ChildrenFirst 14

William Blake's "Songs of Innocence" [Excerpt]
reflection by Michael Singleton, director of coaching, Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association 16

Gary Snyders's "For the Children"
reflection by Betsy Taylor, founder, Center for the New American Dream 18

Theodore Roethke's "Cuttings (Later)"
reflection by Brian D. McLaren, author, speaker, evangelical activist 20

T. S. Eliot's "Little Gidding" [Excerpt]
reflection by Kathleen Kostelny, international consultant on children affected by war and violence 22

Marge Piercy's "To be of use"
reflection by Martha Bergmark, president, Mississippi Center for Justice 24

Eugene McCarthy's "Ares"
reflection by Mary Beth Yarrow, documentary film producer 26

Defining Moments 29

Adrienne Rich's "In Those Years"
reflection by Peter Karoff, founder and chairman, The Philanthropic Initiative 30

Wendell Berry's "A Vision"
reflection by Barbara Hummel, corporate and nonprofit facilitator 32

William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 29"
reflection by Orli Cotel, national publicist, Sierra Club 34

Denise Levertov's "The Avowal"
reflection by Craig Dykstra, senior vice president, Lilly Endowment 36

Marge Pi…