{"id":182223,"date":"2024-05-14T09:51:33","date_gmt":"2024-05-14T14:51:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=182223"},"modified":"2026-01-15T20:38:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T02:38:14","slug":"recovering-your-personal-history-of-manhood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manhood\/recovering-your-personal-history-of-manhood\/","title":{"rendered":"Recovering Your Personal History of Manhood"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Elderly<\/p>\n

The other day, I was staring blankly at my bookshelf in my office while thinking about something related to the Art of Manliness.<\/span><\/p>\n

As I semi-zoned out, a book caught my eye: <\/span>Fire in the Belly<\/span><\/em><\/a> by Sam Keen. <\/span><\/p>\n

I hadn\u2019t cracked that book open in over a decade. <\/span><\/p>\n

When I first started AoM <\/span>back<\/span> in 2008, I <\/span>poured through<\/span> all the books about manhood and masculinity <\/span>that were out there<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span>Fire in the Belly <\/span><\/em>was one of them. <\/span><\/p>\n

(Here are the 13 best books about manhood and masculinity <\/span>that came out of<\/span> that study).<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Fire in the Belly <\/span><\/em>was published in 1991 and is part of the \u201cmythopoetic\u201d male literature that was popular <\/span>around that<\/span> time. Think Robert Bly <\/span>and <\/span>Iron John<\/span><\/em><\/a> and<\/span> drum circles and the like.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the book, Keen argues that one of the problems facing modern men is that they lack, well, \u201cfire in the belly.\u201d It\u2019s a spiritedness that drives men to do great deeds. <\/span>Thumos<\/span><\/em>,<\/span> <\/span><\/em><\/a>in other words. <\/span><\/p>\n

After I noticed <\/span>Fire<\/span> in the <\/span>Belly<\/span><\/em> on my shelf, I took it down and thumbed through it, recollecting that I considered the book a mixed bag. Keen takes a compelling idea \u2014 <\/span>fire<\/span> in the <\/span>belly<\/span> \u2014 and tries to make it jive with a New Age pony-tailed <\/span>nice<\/span> guy ethos. He wants men to have <\/span>spiritedness,<\/span> but in a non-threatening Age of Aquarius <\/span>sort of<\/span> way. <\/span><\/p>\n

A lot of the mythopoetic men stuff is like that. It forwards some good concepts, but <\/span>they\u2019re often framed<\/span> in a way that doesn\u2019t resonate with me <\/span>personally<\/span>. I\u2019m sure people have the same reaction to AoM. That\u2019s how the let\u2019s-talk-about-being-a-man cookie crumbles.<\/span><\/p>\n

One <\/span>section that I did think was interesting in<\/span> the book is <\/span>called<\/span> \u201cRecovering Your Personal History of Manhood.\u201d<\/span> In it, Keen lists <\/span>a series of<\/span> questions to help you reflect on and better understand your idea of manhood. <\/span><\/p>\n

Again, the content is a mixed bag. In typical mythopoetic male fashion, there are snicker- and eye-roll-inducing questions like: \u201cTrace the history of your penis. When did you first become aware that you had a dangling destiny?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But<\/span> there are also some questions that I thought were useful, which I list below.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

They\u2019ve given me some things to think about. They could be good conversation starters next time <\/span>you\u2019re hanging<\/span> out with your <\/span>bros<\/span>. They might even be good to talk about with your teenage son. <\/span><\/p>\n