r e v i e w s ______________________________________________   an excellent book of pioneer tanka and a book of 200 tanka memories

A  Pattern  For  This  Place ______________________________________________ Words of a Pioneer Woman by Carol Purington             These long sunny days              he sets off at first light              to mow the marsh grass -                  the young ones and I hoe the corn . . .                      putting summer by   This is a simple, beautifully designed & well produced book with Tanka that gives one a sense of place even though the author informs us that these are poems of a fictitious pioneer woman who lived in Massachusetts two hundred years ago.              We are here          with food enough, wood enough          to stare down winter              He names tomorrow              our own day of Thanksgiving              The quilt illustrations by the author's sister-in-law that accompany the poems transport us to a bygone era with their honesty and quiet simplicity and further add to the strong sense of place.               That long ago time           when he first spoke to me of wedding              - a golden robin sang              from summer elms in my parents' garden -                  I hear its voice again     The book tells the story of one woman's life in an isolated cabin and how she overcomes the loneliness, fear and loss in what must have been a harsh and often unforgiving environment. The poems reveal her close communion with nature and her god.               Transplanted rosebush -           and I too am called to be a pilgrim                How to live                     loving this one place                          yet loving heaven more     Carol Purington has given us a gift of Tanka poems worthy of returning to again and again.               He is back                and I would wish to live in no other place,                to hear no other song -                    the children's laughter                    soaring high with his       We have another fine book from Winfred Press and this volume is   available from: Winfred Press,  364 Wilson Hill Road, Colrain, MA 01340,  USA.  $12.00 domestic (USA) ppd.,  $16.00 ppd. overseas surface 80 pages, 8.5 x 5.5 inches, perfect bound   ai  li

Memories  Of  A  Woman ______________________________________________ by Harue Aoki             Washed my hair thoroughly         though, in my life         nothing has changed         The day passes         like all the rest                  the jar                                                                                        Making up my mind                                                                               to clean a carpet                                                                               Remove a sofa                                                                               remove a table                                                                               Then, I stand at the centre            I came out aimlessly        alone on Sunday        I'm at a loss        what to do today        My wedding anniversary                                                                                                                          The continuing theme of loneliness pervades Harue Aoki's book of tanka. Her poems ask questions to which she already has the answers. What comes across is a gentle woman whose solitude and sensuality seem trapped in verse.            Confined in my room        I'm lost in my thoughts        Alone, vaguely, blankly        I expose my hands        to the February sun   All enquiries to: Mure Literature Society, c/o Kaneko, 3-24-4 Inokashira, Mitaka-shi, Tokyo 181-0001, Japan   ai  li

n o t i c e    b o a r d 

original artwork copyright  ai  li  2002

 

n o t i c e    b o a r d ______________________________________________   two editions of Ko magazine from Japan and a double-fold haiku card . . .

Ko ______________________________________________ Haiku Magazine in English Spring-Summer 2001 Translations of Japanese haiku by James Kirkup and Tamaki Makoto predominate in this magazine with practically all of the published haiku in the traditional 5-7-5 format.                    The autopsy room             is freezing cold. I could glimpse             father's testicles                                                                                                                    Landscape gardener                                                    arrived to start creating                                              the shapes of winter         both haiku by Hirai Shobin translated by James Kirkup and Tamaki Makoto   Please contact: Koko Kato, Editor, 1-36-7 Ishida cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya, Japan 467-0067   ai   li

Ko ______________________________________________ Haiku Magazine in English Autumn-Winter 2001 See above for a brief description of the magazine.                   Winter seclusion             sometimes trimming the eyebrows             when they grow too long                                                                                                                    Open on this world                                                                      something like a small window                                           in the coffin lid         both haiku by Takayanagi Shigenobu translated by James Kirkup and Tamaki Makoto   Please contact: Koko Kato, Editor, 1-36-7 Ishida cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya, Japan 467-0067   ai   li

the temple yard ______________________________________________ a double-fold haiku card by Stanford M. Forrester housing a collection of 18 haiku and senryu about Buddhism and the Zen experience                     how quickly             it comes back-             dust                                                                                                          temple ruins                                                         moss growing between                                          buddha's toes         The price is $2.00 (US funds) postage paid to Europe and $1.00 postage paid within the US.   Please send all orders to: Stanford M. Forrester, P. O. Box 290691, Whethersfield, CT 06109, USA.   ai   li

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