Palm-of-the-Hand Story: The Blue General by Mark Cody Poulton, Victoria, Canada After my mother-in-law died, my wife and daughter were sorting through her things. When they opened her wallet, a funky smell filled the room. My wife pulled out something papery inside—the skin of a snake. It was good luck, I learned, to keep a …Read More
Category: Featured Writings (Page 10 of 14)
Featured writing
The Beach in Winter Yaki soba/tako yaki sign spins outside the closed shop. Pine tree leans, dropped needles rusted. Sparrows flung from a tree. Ducks disappear between waves. The fishing boat moves deeper. ******************* Beachcombing A leaf, red stalk and veins and on it still – gold glinting now – the shower remains. **************** Reds, …Read More
CATS AND DOGS IN BASHO Selection, Translation and Commentary by Jeff Robbins Words of Basho in this font, bold Last January David Duff posted his loving discussion of cats on this site which included no poetry about our feline friends. Here, to complement David’s article, are five Basho haiku and six renku links about cats, …Read More
In the past twenty years Pontocho has changed out of all recognition. Now it is packed with tourists, English menus are everywhere, and there are shops which cater even to budget travellers. Needless to say, a hundred years ago things were quite different, as Lafcadio Hearn here makes plain when he came on a visit …Read More
As the deadline for the 2017 WiK Writing Competition approaches (March 1), we’re posting some of the best ‘also ran’ entries from the 2016 competition in the hope that they may stimulate others into creativity…. Richard Newton – 2016 Bainiku John and Supa Dupa Bainiku John’s wife died when she ventured too close to the …Read More
Richard Steiner has an eye for characteristic Kyoto scenes, as his woodblocks display, but here he turns to a verbal rather than visual medium to explore one of Kyoto’s special hidden secrets – and these pockets of forgotten time truly are hidden. ***************** One would not expect there could be something yet remaining in Kyoto …Read More
John Dougill writes… Lafcadio Hearn had a taste for the macabre, as is well-known from his Kwaidan (1903) collection of strange stories. In Ghostly Japan (1899) contains one such story which is set in Kyoto. Fittingly enough, it concerns a tengu, for the creatures were much associated with the city, particularly the northern area around …Read More
The latest Kyoto Journal update, from managing editor Ken Rodgers Kyoto Journal’s 88th issue, to be released in February, is another eclectic feast; I’d like to share a few highlights with Writers in Kyoto, as an appetizer. An extraordinary set of “cadenzas” by a notable British poet, calling himself John Gohorry, celebrates the real-life exploits …Read More
New Year Basho Eight Basho haiku, four linked verses, two Basho letters, and one haibun Selection, translation, and commentary by Jeff Robbins Words of Basho appear in bold face For the New Year of 2017 and Writers in Kyoto, I have assembled a collection of Basho works on the human experience of …Read More
One of WiK’s members has produced a retrospective look at the departing Year of the Monkey. Some may have mixed feelings as we see off another year, but perhaps there’s something in this midwinter miscellancy which will resonate with the sensitive reader. Our thanks to Anonymous for this Christmas Day package, a timely reminder that …Read More
Kyoto Writing Competition
WiK Anthologies
The Nature of Kyoto (2023)
Eds. Lisa Twaronite Sone & Robert Weis
Foreword by Pico Iyer
Structures of Kyoto (2021)
Eds: Rebecca Otowa & Karen Lee Tawarayama
Foreword by Judith Clancy
Encounters with Kyoto (2019)
Eds: Jann Williams & Ian Josh Yates
Foreword by Juliet Winters Carpenter
Echoes (2017)
Eds: John Dougill, Amy Chavez, & Mark Richardson
Preface by Alex Kerr
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