2006. The Art of Marriage poem His most well known writing, The Art of Marriage, has been called by Souvenir Press the "most frequently recited English-language wedding poems and one of the greatest odes to matrimony. It embodies the sentiments, the ideals, and the love to which any marriage aspires. The memorable simplicity of its language makes the poem a touchstone for all couples, both at the start of a relationship and after the blessings of a lifetime in love." This poem has stood the test of time, circulating with recommendations from couple to couple for almost half a century (and currently on Internet message boards and discussion groups), and is widely used in ceremony readings and printed in wedding programs. Wilferd Peterson's daughter, Lilian Thorpe, has said "this essay has been known to save marriages!" and his granddaughter, Judith Shepherd, has given a framed version of this poem as a gift to many friends over the years. According to Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway, a wedding officiant in New York City and editor of the wedding blog Wedlok.com <http://www.wedlok.com>, the poem was read at Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward's Las Vegas wedding ceremony in 1958, and their marriage is one of the longest lasting Hollywood marriages on record. Bibliography Peterson's ten books, published by Harmony Press, Simon & Schuster, Hay House and BBS Publishing Company have spanned 37 years and have been printed in six different languages. He was awarded the George Washington medal from Freedom's Foundation at Valley Forge for "outstanding achievement in bringing about a better understanding of American way of life." BBS Publishing Co. described Wilferd Peterson's essays as promoting "healthy and peaceful living." Published works The Art of Getting Along (1949) The Art of Living (1961) The New Book of the Art of Living (1962, 1963) More about the Art of Living (1966) Adventures in the Art of Living (1968) The Art of Living in the World Today (1969) The Art of Living Day by Day (1972) The Art of Living Treasure Chest (1977) The Art of Creative Thinking (1991) The Art of Living: Thoughts on Meeting the Challenge of Life (1993) References 1900 births 1995 deaths American magazine writers Religious Science 20th-century American non-fiction writers