By Ozawa Minoru, translated by Janine Beichman, photographs by Maeda Shinzō and Akira (Japan Library, 2021) Review by Cody Poulton Ozawa Minoru is a celebrated haiku poet, winner of the 2006 Yomiuri Literature prize in Poetry, and contributor to a variety of newspapers and literary journals. Well-Versed: Exploring Modern Japanese Haiku is a collection of More…
Tag: Janine Beichman
Excerpt—Cherry Blossom poems from “Well-Versed: Exploring Modern Japanese Haiku”
With the cherry blossoms in mankai (full bloom) now in Japan, we take some time to contemplate their beauty through poetry. The following are two excerpts from the just released Well-Versed: Exploring Modern Japanese Haiku (Japan Library/JPIC March 23, 2021) with commentary by Japanese haiku poet and critic Osawa Minoru (translated by Janine Beichman). The More…
Review—Makoto Ōoka’s Beneath the Sleepless Tossing of the Planets
Twentieth Century Surrealism Tempered by Literary Discipline Beneath the Sleepless Tossing of the Planets: Selected Poems by Makoto Ōoka translated by Janine Beichman (Kurodahan Press, 2019) Review by Christopher Blasdel The title of this magnificently translated volume of poetry by the recently deceased Japanese poet Makoto Ōoka immediately conjures a sense of the surreal. Even More…