Other Side River: Free Verse (Rock Spring Collection of Japanese Literature) (Paperback)

by Leza Lowitz (Editor), Miyuki Aoyama (Editor) "under the cherry blossoms, warmed by the earth's smell..." (more)
Key Phrases: women free verse poets, miyuki aoyama, kazuko shiraishi (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A little gem made of exquisite poems... like a bright pomegranate just exploded." -Soichi Furuta -- Soichi Furuta

"A marvelous collection.... the tidal inevitability, power, and warmth of all this pent-up female energy is extremely exciting." -Pacific Reader -- Pacific Reader

"An extraordinary collection... With this anthology, Lowitz and her fellow translators have disclosed to the English reader a new world of poetry." -Donald Richie, The Japan Times -- Review

Product Description
Japanese poets have been writing tanka and haiku for hundreds of years. Japanese free verse, however, is barely a century old, and women's free verse in Japan is younger still. This collection, the second volume in the Stone Bridge anthology of contemporary Japanese women's poetry, introduces the work of some three dozen of Japan's finest women poets who specialize in free verse. Remarkable for their diversity and passion, these poems provide a vivid contrast to the more traditional verse forms featured in Volume One, A Long Rainy Season.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: Stone Bridge Press (June 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880656167
• ISBN-13: 978-1880656167
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,729,068 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the response to this marvelous cache of poetry, November 10, 1997

By A Customer

From an editor, poet and reader There are no Madam Butterflys in this book. Leza Lowitz and Miyuki Aoyama have gathered together, edited and translated an amazing collection of contemporary Japanese women's poetry in other side river. Very prominent on the cover and title page are the words FREE VERSE, and free it is. No one is singing "Un bel di.." in this group. Until now my view of Japanese women was confined to Korosawa's movies and Puccini's heart-rending melodies. What an awakening! Nobody is bowing and smiling, giggling and shuffling among this crew. There may be songs of fleeting love, of disappointment, of nostalgia, even a lament after an abortion-- Hiromi Ito's "Killing Kanoko", but these are modern women expressing themselves in an open, bold and incredibly brave fashion, expressing themselves in songs of protest, triumph, love, survival and on a variety of subjects in a unique way. These are women from every province, from every walk of life. Some embrace the counter culture, some write in more traditional ways but each poet has a distinctive voice, a recognizable style and makes a strong, vibrant contribution to the whole. Leza Lowitz and Miyuki Aoyamo have gifted not only women, but what is more important, the life of poetry wherever it may breath.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Stunning Collection, April 2, 1997

By A Customer

This beautiful collection surprised me with its depth and breadth. The poetry of Japanese women of all ages and backgrounds comes together in this landmark anthology in clear, poetic translations. What's more (thankfully), there are no geisha or shrinking violets to be found in its pages. Rather, this is a flowering of contemporary women poets from the famous to the virtually unknown, including a range of powerful, strong poems from those whose voices haven't been heard before in English translation. Korean-Japanese poets, Ainu poets, poets from Japan's "Untouchable" caste, lesbian poets, poets writing in English (not their native tongue!) and others are some of the diverse talents blooming here. From the surrealistic to the realistic, from the prose poem to the jazz riff, from experimental visual poetry to confessional chants, this brave and beautiful anthology delights upon each re-reading. A sample from its pages is:

"Attica Blues/Archie Shepp":
Chained in the bottomless marshpond/
I dye my body as black as possible/
Tomorrow I'll be blacker than today./
The days stand on unreasonableness,/
Historical questions crushed under their feet./

But I don't stop protesting/
Even though I can't move when I'm held down/
Even if my last blessing was the sound of my twisted neck,/
I'd make you listen from underground.--by Harumi Makino Smith

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars op, November 10, 1997

By A Customer

From an editor, poet and reader There are no Madam Butterflys in this book. Leza Lowitz and Miyuki Aoyama have gathered together, edited and translated an amazing collection of contemporary Japanese women's poetry in other side river. Very prominent on the cover and title page are the words FREE VERSE, and free it is. No one is singing "Un bel di.." in this group. Until now my view of Japanese women was confined to Korosawa's movies and Puccini's heart-rending melodies. What an awakening! Nobody is bowing and smiling, giggling and shuffling among this crew. There may be songs of fleeting love, of disappointment, of nostalgia, even a lament after an abortion-- Hiromi Ito's "Killing Kanoko", but these are modern women expressing themselves in an open, bold and incredibly brave fashion, expressing themselves in songs of protest, triumph, love, survival and on a variety of subjects in a unique way. These are women from every province, from every walk of life. Some embrace the counter culture, some write in more traditional ways but each poet has a distinctive voice, a recognizable style and makes a strong, vibrant contribution to the whole. Leza Lowitz and Miyuki Aoyamo have gifted not only women, but what is more important, the life of poetry wherever it may breath.