Authors’ presentation and social event, Nov 15.Report by Felicity Tillack (photos by her unless otherwise stated) On a beautiful November Sunday afternoon in northern Kyoto city, the WiK members congregated for a special social and celebratory event. The main reason for the gathering was to support authors whose books were published in the time of …Read More
Category: Kyoto Poetry (Page 2 of 2)
Poetry that is about the ancient capital or was set in Kyoto
Dream Song 73: Karesansui, Ryoan-ji by John Berryman (from his visit to Kyoto in 1957) The taxi makes the vegetables fly.‘Dozo kudasai,’ I have him wait.Past the bright lake up into the temple,shoes off, andmy right leg swings me left.I do survive beside the garden I came seven thousand mile the other waysupplied of energies …Read More
Mayumi Kawaharada writes: At the beginning of autumn, on a sunny day, I joined a volunteer event of fixing bamboo fences alongside the bamboo forests in Arashiyama. It was organised by a NPO called “People together for Mt. Ogura”. My haiku master , Stephen H Gill, is one of the cofounders of this group. They …Read More
Mayumi Kawaharada writes… Do you know the American sweets cafe called CC’s coffee shop in Kyoto, which was established in 1974 by the American poet and editor Cid Corman? When he and his Japanese wife (Shizumi Konishi) left for America in 1980, his wife’s sister and her husband inherited the cafe. He returned to Kyoto again …Read More
It’s on the outskirts of Kyoto. It’s in spacious woodland. It dates back to the eighth century and pre-Heian times. It’s little-known, but once it was counted amongst the top 22 shrines of Japan. Oharano Shrine is closely associated with the powerful Fujiwara clan. It was set up by the dominant family at the time …Read More
Our attention has been drawn to a useful resource in Japanese of poetry about Kyoto. It’s part of an extensive website called Japan Note, covering various aspects of history and culture as can be seen on its home page. For 20 waka poems in Japanese about Kyoto, click here. For 30 different tanka in Japanese …Read More
Edith Shiffert, a Poet Inspired by Nature and Her Life in Japan, Dies at 101 By MARGALIT FOX. JUNE 11, 2017. New York Times Edith Shiffert, an American poet whose work was profoundly influenced by the half-century she spent in Japan, died on March 1 in Kyoto, where she had long made her home. She …Read More
This Sunday is May 21st, which means that the popular flea market known as Kobo-san will be held at To-ji. It’s a busy bustling and packed affair, quite different from the To-ji which Gary Snyder depicts in his poem below. In a 2011 visit to Japan, at the age of 82, he recalled the Kyoto …Read More
WiK 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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