Ellen Burstyn on Her Favorite Books and Her Love of Poetry

In an email interview, she talked about why she followed up a memoir with “Poetry Says It Better” — and when and why she leans on the “For Dummies” series. SCOTT HELLER

Describe your ideal reading experience.

Next to a warm fire in a house in the woods. Barring that, at home in bed.

How have your reading tastes changed over time?

When I first began reading, I read fiction. My favorite novel was “The Magic Mountain,” by Thomas Mann. Over the years I find that I am less interested in fiction and more interested in trying to learn about science and mathematics. I love the “For Dummies” series. I remember reading or hearing many years ago, maybe in high school, that the first law of thermodynamics is that energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only change form. So, I was thrilled to learn there was such a book as “Thermodynamics for Dummies.” It was interesting reading, but I’m afraid I could not quote you anything from that book.

What’s the best book you’ve ever received as a gift?

I received the “Rubaiyat” of Omar Khayyám from someone, probably from my first husband, Bill. It stimulated my love of poetry, beautifully illustrated books and also my fascination with the East and the Mideast.

Why write “Poetry Says It Better” rather than, say, a follow-up to your 2006 memoir?

“Poetry Says It Better” has some references to my life, but I feel I wrote enough about myself in my memoir, and I include some of my personal history in this book.

You write that you’ve memorized poems your whole adult life. What’s the last poem you memorized?

I am working on “Shadows,” by D.H. Lawrence. I am trying to get that securely in my memory. Of course, at 93 I am not as good at memorizing as I used to be, or at holding on to what I have already memorized. But it is good exercise for the memory to use it.

You quote a line from Kaveh Akbar: “Art is where what we survive survives.” Why does that line resonate so much for you?

That line is so meaningful to me because I know that the difficult first 18 years of my life is the emotional library I descend into for every part I’ve ever played, and every poem that has landed in my heart.

Of all the characters you’ve played across different media, which role felt the richest — the most novelistic?

I would have to say Lois in “The Last Picture Show.” She was a character I didn’t really understand right away. I had to dig for her. She was multidimensional. I feel literary characters are like that.

What’s the best book about acting, or the life of an actor, you’ve ever read?

I have to name two. “My Life in Art,” by Konstantin Stanislavsky, and “A Dream of Passion,” by Lee Strasberg.

How do you organize your books?

I’ve collected my library for 70 years. All my classic literature is together, on two facing walls in the front of my living room. On the other end of the room, I have my art books. Facing them are my travel and music books. On the fourth wall are some of my science books.

In the large entrance hall, I have one standing bookcase of the complete Carl Jung collection, and near it another bookcase of poetry anthologies. In my kitchen office are all the books about food. Then I have a writing room that contains books of poetry and science, and my Sufi books. In my bedroom are my spiritual and religious books.

What books are on your night stand?

Currently: “Anam Cara: Spiritual Wisdom From the Celtic World,” by John O’Donohue; “Prayers of the Cosmos,” by Neil Douglas Klotz; “The Courage to Create,” by Rollo May; “Radical Love,” by Omid Safi; Pema Chödrön’s “How We Live Is How We Die”; “The Trial of Socrates,” by I.F. Stone; “Our Green Heart: The Soul and Science of Forests,” by Diana Beresford-Kroeger; and “On Living and Dying Well,” by Cicero.

What book might people be surprised to find on your shelves?

Probably Ken Wilber’s “A Brief History of Everything” and Michio Kaku’s “Physics of the Future.” These are two of my favorite books. I love to read books on science that are not written for scientists but for curious readers like me.

You’re organizing a literary dinner party. Which three writers, dead or alive, do you invite?

Oh, definitely Mary Oliver, my favorite poet of all time, and Edgar Allan Poe. The thought of those two people talking to each other. Finally, Tennessee Williams, who’s written some of the greatest plays ever.