r e v i e w s ______________________________________________   a new book on Haiku Tanka and Senryu from Japan

Internationalization of  Japanese Poems ______________________________________________ Haiku   Tanka   Senryu by Ikuyo Yoshimura [HAIKU], Hatsue Kawawmura [TANKA] and Kazuo Hayakawa [SENRYU]                 I handed a love letter        To a girl without knowing                   She's one of twins.                         trans. by Kazuo Hayakawa                         The Haiku, Tanka and Senryu  in this new book are bi-lingual [English and Japanese] but the rest of the text are in Japanese script. Black and white photographic reproductions are used liberally throughout, all of which have been included to accompany the relevant poems.              winter rain          in our garage          the same stray cat            Penny Harter [The Orange Balloon 1980]              I was pleasantly surprised to discover that one of my poems from an early edition of still had been used even though it had not been submitted by me for the publication.               A wolf; one firefly clinging to it            Tohta Taneka          trans. by Jim Kacian, Toshio Kimura, Ban'ya Natsuishi & Eric Selland          [Haiku Troubadours 2000]     Ikuyo Noshimura tells me that this book is mainly used by the Japanese college students who take the class of International Culture or Comparative Literature and believes that these students will discover fresh aspects of Haiku, Tanka and Senryu from the published examples, and in turn should draw their attention to these short forms in English as well as Japanese modern and classical short poems.                                      From the future                                     a wind arrives           that blows the waterfall apart             trans. by Stephen Gill, Jim Kacian, Ban'ya Natsuishi & Susumu Takiguchi           [A Future Waterfall 1999]     A large number of the featured Tanka proved too sentimental for my liking and I would have preferred to have been offered a wider selection of work from writers of this genre. This would have given the reader a more balanced understanding of modern Tanka and showcased some fine examples being written in the West today. But there was magic in one Tanka worthy of mentioning:              I I knew nothing            of the gingko            until autumn            laid a thousand fans            at my feet              LeRoy Gorman, Canada   Overall, the book is well produced and the subtle cover design and its smooth laminated cover works well.       all enquiries to: Ikuyo Yoshimura e-mail: ikuyo.yoshimura@nifty.com 290 pages, 4 x 7.5 inches, perfect bound     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 ______________________________________________   a book on Shiki brought back from time . . .  and a limited handmade book back in print

Masaoka Shiki: His Life and Works ______________________________________________ By Janine Beichman          Cheng & Tsui Company is proud to make this acclaimed work, long out of print, available once again in an enhanced edition with photographs. The first critical biography of Shiki in English, Masaoka Shiki: His Life and Works offers a complete portrait of the life and the far reaching influence of "the father of modern haiku."  Janine Beichman introduces Shiki's haiku and tanka within the fascinating context of his brief and energetic life.         5.5 x 8.5, 15 b/w photographs, 192 pp. Paperback.   $19.95 add $5 for shipping (domestic) and $6 shipping via seamail (international). Pay by cheque, money order, or credit card in US funds to: Cheng & Tsui Company, 25 West St., Boston, MA 02111-1213, phone (617) 988-2401, secure web site: www.cheng-tsui.com.   ai   li

 

90 Frogs ______________________________________________ by Dennis H. Dutton Back in Print!   I wrote these poems--90 haiku with frogs in them--for my mother, Helen Berneda Chapel Dutton, who was then about three weeks from her 90th birthday (she's now 93).  I made them into a very limited-edition handmade book; also made 90 origami frogs with one haiku on each one's back, then rode the train from new mexico to California to give them to her.  Most of the poems got written in a rain of frogs while I was watching Zefferelli's 'Romeo and Juliet' on video one night and while lingering over coffee the next morning. Here's a small sampler: summer heat a fly relaxing on the frog's back first one then another stars and frogs old frog who will blink first you or me no passport the frog just hops across the border thick ice over the pond no frogs good night frogs keep singing if you like   My Best, Tenzing Karma Tenzing Wangchuk (Formerly Dennis H. Dutton) Fontana, Calfornia USA               $6 + $1 shipping & handling in the US $6+$2 shipping (ground) & handling outside the US please mail cheques or cash to: Stanford M. Forrester bottle rockets press p.o. box 290691 wethersfield, ct 06129-0691 Please make cheques out to: "Stanford M. Forrester"     ai   li

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