NORMAN DUBIE

Book of the Jewel Worm
   The Spirit Tablets at Goa Lake

"Book of the Jewel Worm" is the first of three sections that make up the completed manuscript of Norman Dubie's Buddhist-inspired, futurist epic, The Spirit Tablets at Goa Lake. This first section was published November 1, 2002, and appears here, in archive, with a preface by Norman Dubie.

Section two of the manuscript, "Book of the Jaspers," appears in Blackbird, Vol. 2, No. 1, published May 1, 2003. Section three, "The Book of Crying Kanglings," appears in Blackbird, Vol. 2, No. 2, published November 1, 2003.

Because the manuscript is published serially across three issues, we have tried to give you plenty of signposts by which to find your way. Please be aware that links from the Table of Contents may take you outside the archive or issue from which you enter the Table of Contents.

Cliff Edwards, Virginia Commonwealth University professor of philosophy and religious studies, provides notes below for readers unfamiliar with Buddhism. He writes, "The long poem can weave its magic whether one understands the world of Tibetan Buddhism and its vocabulary or not. . . . Nevertheless, some knowledge of the world-view and technical terms of Tibet's Vajrayana might enrich one's reading and open another level of understanding."  

Begin Book of the Jewel Worm

Edwards' Notes  | Table of Contents, The Spirit Tablets at Goa Lake

   Contributor's notes