Poems of a Mountain Home (Translations from the Oriental Classics) [Hardcover]

Saigyo (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0231074921 | ISBN-13: 978-0231074926 | Publication Date: June 3, 1991

Activism is alive and well in the United States, according to Melissa Checker and Maggie Fishman. It exists on large and small scales and thrives in unexpected places. Finding activism in backyards, art classes, and urban areas branded as "ghettos," these anthropologists explore the many routes people take to work toward social change.Ten absorbing studies present activist groups across the country -- from transgender activists in New York City, to South Asian teenagers in Silicon Valley, to evangelical Christians and Palestinian Americans. Each one examines a social change effort as it unfolds on the ground. Through their anthropological approach these portraits of American society suggest the inherent possibilities in identity-based organizing and offer crucial in-depth perspectives on such hotly debated topics as multiculturalism and the culture wars, the environment, racism, public education, Native American rights, and the Christian right. Moving far beyond the walls of academia, the contributors address the complex issues that arise when researchers have stakes in the subjects they study. Scholars can play multiple roles in the activist struggles they recount, and these essays illustrate how ethnographic research itself can become a tool for activism.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Engagingly written, the volume will appeal across the readership spectrum, from general readers to professionals...Recommended. All levels and libraries." -- Choice "The volumes focus on activism and identity provides a compelling image of an activist strategy for advancing social research." -- Elisia L. Cohen, Argumentation And Advocacy "The strength Checker and Fishman's Local Actions is in its clearly written, accessible case studies of efforts at social change." -- Karen Brodkin, Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power "Local Actions is a welcome volume that represents a (still) rare instance of anthropologists engaging in the study of political processes in western society; it provides us with detail-rich and nuanced understandings of politics as it takes place in practice, and in everyday settings." -- Davide Pero, Social Anthropology

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Japanese

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 252 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (June 3, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231074921
• ISBN-13: 978-0231074926
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,908,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Poet by a Classic Translator, September 2, 2002

By 

Hortensia Anderson "Hortensia Anderson" (nyc, ny, usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saigyo (Paperback)

The title of this volume of 200 tanka by Saigyo (1118-1190) is "Poems of a Mountain Home" and, indeed, the collection has the scent of Buddhism throughout. Burton Watson has again done a beautiful translation, capturing the spirit of the age without getting artificial and superficial about it.

Mountain village
where wind makes sad noises
in the pines --
and adding to the loneliness
the cry of an evening cicada

(page 146)

I recommend this as a worthy addition to any collection of Japanese poetry.