The Selected Poems

by Shuntarō Tanikawa, Harold Wright (Translator)

Shuntaro Tanikawa is the most popular poet in Japan today, respected by literary critics and general readers alike. For his edition Harold Wright has worked directly with Mr. Tanikawa to fashion precise and elegant translations of his most representative and significant poems from throughout his career.

Born in Tokyo in 1931, Tanikawa was profoundly influenced by the cultural disruption of Japan caused by the Second World War. During the air raids on Tokyo in 1945, Tanikawa toured the city on bicycle, viewing firsthand its destruction. After the war Tanikawa found Japan's own poetic tradition insufficient to sustain the demands of new poetic forms and attitudes reflecting the modern experience. He remarked that, "after the defeat, all the values that the Japanese believed in where totally destroyed." [from book jacket]

Genres: Poetry, Japanese Literature, Japan

148 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1984

About the author

Shuntarō Tanikawa was a Japanese poet and translator. He was considered to be one of the most widely read and highly regarded Japanese poets, both in Japan and abroad. The English translation of his poetry volume Floating the River in Melancholy, translated by William I. Elliott and Kazuo Kawamura and illustrated by Yoko Sano, won the American Book Award in 1989.

Reviews

[Sofie · Rating 5 out of 5]

BEAUTIFUL.

it is as if he's scattered his own heart beats, thoughts, and breath about the page, so that we merely absorb his words, rather than interpret them. I recommend this book to all who may have lost hope in "poetry".

[Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

For anyone not familiar with Tankikawa Shuntaro, he is Japan's most popular and most respected living poet. This book draws together poems from across Tanikawa's career. As such, the range is great. This book makes enjoyable, sometimes funny and sometimes moving reading, whether the author is agonising on his difficulties in expressing himself effectively (something familiar to anyone who attempts any artistic endeavour), enthusing on American culture (a central theme in this poet's body of work), or exploring an altogether sillier angle (e.g. in Ball of Yarn, perhaps my favourite poem from this collection).

[Steven Godin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Human beings on this small orb
sleep, waken and work, and sometimes
wish for friends on Mars.

I've no notion
what Martians do on their small orb
(neririing or kiruruing or hararaing)
But sometimes they like to have friends on Earth.
No doubt about that.

Universal gravitation is the power of solitudes
pulling each other.

Because the universe is distorted,
we all seek for one another.

Because the universe goes on expanding,
we are all uneasy.

With the chill of two billion light-years of solitude,
I suddenly sneezed.

[Tulga G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty soon I will be a tree.
The tip of my middle finger tingles
And sprouts green leaves.
...
...
Rain refreshes me.
No one notices me at all.
They just hurry by.
Until the day, I fade I go no nowhere.
I keep on rushing, swaying in the wind. (Page 93)



Late at night sitting at the table,
Noisy friends gone,
And thinking what to write about,
I suddenly recall a morning thirty years ago.
...
...
Am I just the same poet I was that morning thirty years ago,
Still unscathed? (Page 109)

[shirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very grateful for the biographical section tacked on at the end of the volume. What an interesting life this poet has had/is living. My favorite, by far, was the last piece, which makes me want to read a newer collection of his work. This was 3 stars with a half-star added for the few I really liked which rounded up to 4.

#JanuaryinJapan

[Amanda McCann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is everything you expect from poetry. Parts of my soul were shaken by grief then filled with anger and later calmed with love.

[Joseph M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry like this makes me happy. Poems that are simple and beautiful and calm me down when I'm irritated with the world.

[Jenni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mine is translated by Harold Wright. Some absolutely stunning work, like "Adherence to Apples." There's a lot of repetition in his poems. At times I have loved this and other times not so much. Depends on my mood.

[Masa Baggio · Rating 5 out of 5]

現代の日本の詩人の巨匠の詩集。英語でもその雰囲気は相変わらず。すばらしい！

[Mills College Library]

895.615 T1649 1983