Rev. Danny Fisher

Sad news via Shambhala Sun Space:

Singer and folk guitarist Phoebe Snow has died, the cause of death being identified as complications from a brain hemorrhage she suffered in January 2010. The voice behind such hits as 1975’s “Poetry Man” and “Gone at Last” (with Paul Simon), Snow was also a practitioner of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism, whose main practice is the chanting of the devotional mantra “Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.”

Snow’s career quieted down for a time as she focused on the health of her special-needs daughter, Valerie. After Valerie’s death in 2007, she would re-engage her life in music, and also her practice. As Snow told the San Francisco Chronicle:

“…I thought I would rail against my religious practice. I questioned it at first for obvious reasons. But then my faith deepened. I became much more devoted. I found, almost… I’m trying to find the right word to describe it… sanctuary.”