Sea of Clouds (the art of change) The November sun Dazzles our faces with eyes closed The bright glow of coloured leaves Is not of this world Here, today It is another universe That looks like the world As it is Of islands, rivers, mountains, oceans A monochrome universe Emerges from the stone Expanding my …Read More
Tag: Kyoto poetry
by Ted Taylor A few years back, renowned guitarist Joshua Breakstone came up with the idea of doing some jazz and poetry nights, where local poets could join his band on stage. We’d start in Kyoto, and if it went well, we’d try to expand it to other cities in Japan, and liaise with local …Read More
by James Woodham comb your hair with windlet the hills flow through your eyessun adorn your skin wind on the waterwind in my hair and the crow’s hollow notes dropping sun warm on the skinears full of the mountain streambreathing the blue sky to be free of nowas a bird takes to the airthe future floating …Read More
By Edward Levinson (aka Edo 恵道) hot water bottlememories of motherwarm me 湯たんぽや母の思い出暖めるyutanpo ya, haha no omoide, atatameru My earliest months living in Japan were in Kyoto. It was late fall and getting colder every day. Slowly I got used to the chilly (soon to be frigid) old wooden Japanese houses. One winter morning I …Read More
GRACE NOTESA few weeks ago a title for a collection of short writings unexpectedly suggested itself: “Grace Notes.” Then I realized that what it implied didn’t quite fit anything I actually had on hand, so I’ve been scribbling in a notebook, exploring where this might lead. Here are some examples, as shared via Zoom for …Read More
Isobar Press is not only a specilist publisher of poetry, but of poetry with a Japanese connection in particular. According to its website, it “publishes poetry in English by Japanese and non-Japanese authors who live (or have lived) in Japan, or who write on Japan-related themes.” One of their recent publications is by former resident …Read More
Kyoto: A Literary Guide which came out last year with Camphor Press was a collaborative effort by six different people, who collectively made the selection and agreed on the translation and editing. Now one of them, Michael Lambe of the Deep Kyoto blog, has made a short five minute video with the help of his …Read More
This fascinating selection of Kyoto-specific literature takes readers through twelve centuries of cultural heritage, from ancient Heian beginnings to contemporary depictions. The city’s aesthetic leaning is evident throughout in a mix of well-known and less familiar works by a wide-ranging cast that includes emperors and court ladies, Zen masters and warrior scholars, wandering monks and …Read More
A collection of poetic images by James Woodham. (For an earlier posting of James’s rendering of Lake Biwa in poetry and photography, please see here.) ****** papers on the desk blown by the wind that blows leaves on the hillside now ****** Plato’s ideas – discussion suddenly stopped by windborn blossoms ****** the baby mantis, …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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