Includes bibliographical references (p. [215]-221) and index.

Award-winning essayist and poet Diane Ackerman illuminates an exalted state of transcendence achieved through emotionally and physically vigorous activities. Keenly perceived and written with poetic exuberance, "Deep Play" enlightens us anew by revealing the manifold ways we can enhance our lives.,"Deep play" is that more intensified form of play that puts us in a rapturous mood and awakens the most creative, sentient, and joyful aspects of our inner selves. As Diane Ackerman ranges over a panoply of artistic, spiritual, and athletic activities, from spiritual rapture through extreme sports, we gain a greater sense of what it means to be "in the moment" and totally, transcendentally human.