<p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br><p>Roger Pulvers' translations - with detailed notes and commentary - of Japan's greatest tanka poet, Takuboku Ishikawa, is now available here for the first time in this volume. Each tanka - a poem that in Japanese has thirty-one syllables - is a microcosm of the human psyche, revealing astounding insights into human behaviors, love (and hate) relationships, as well as social and political circumstances that presage our own times.</p><p><br></p><p>In his short life (1886-1912) Takuboku experienced many loves, a tumultuous marriage, fatherhood of three children, one of whom died shortly after birth, a brilliant career as a journalist and wildly popular poet, not to mention a political awakening that was leading him onto the path of the revolutionary.</p><p><br></p><p>In "Old Love Letters," he writes ...</p><p><br></p><p><em>There are so many spelling mistakes</em></p><p><em>In those old love letters.</em></p><p><em>I never noticed until now.</em></p><p><br></p><p>In "The New Year" ...</p><p><br></p><p><em>Will this year be like all others</em></p><p><em>With my mind conjuring only things</em></p><p><em>That the world will not accept?</em></p><p><br></p><p>And in "The Patient" ...</p><p><br></p><p><em>One push of the door, a single step</em></p><p><em>And the corridor seems to stretch</em></p><p><em>As far as the eye can see.</em></p><p><br></p><p>Pulvers writes in <em>The Illusions of Self</em> ...</p><p><br></p><p>Takuboku puts every aspect of his character on the line for us to judge. Japan today craves writers who have the integrity of self-expression and the clarity of vision on their society that Takuboku expresses to us. In the mirror of his works, we are compelled to see our own face in a clear and honest light.</strong></p><p><br></p><p>Of these translations, distinguished author and translator of American literature Motoyuki Shibata has written: "These masterful translations will be a revelation for lovers of Takuboku's poetry while, at the same time, comprising a stylish introduction to those who wish to know it."</p><p><br></p>
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