A Poem by Anryu Suharu
When, with breaking heart, I realize This world is only a dream, The oak tree looks radiant. –Kenneth Rexroth and Ikuko Atsumi, Women Poets of Japan
Category: World Literature
December Latin America Reading Group: Paulo Coelho’s The Pilgrimage
This month we are discussing Paulo Coelho’s The Pilgrimage at the home of Cheryl and Maria 4265 Cleveland Ave., Apt. 1W Monday 10 December 8:00 p.m. Please bring a question you took away from your…
Poem by Lâm Thị Mỹ Dạ
Anh ở xa, em ở xa Vầng trăng ở giữa đôi ta gợi hình Đêm nhìn lên ánh trăng xinh Vầng trăng ấy-nơi chúng mình gặp nhau. — from Green Rice
A Poem by Akiko Yosano
Even at nineteen I knew The violet would fade, The brook would dry up, And life would pass away. Tangled Hair: Selected Tanka from Midaregami trans. Sanford Goldstein and Seishi Shinoda
Spring-Watching Pavilion by Hồ Xuân Hương
A gentle spring evening arrives Airily, unclouded by worldly dust. Three times the bell tolls echoes like a wave. We see heaven upside-down in sad puddles. Love’s vast sea cannot be emptied. And springs of…
Sitting Idle at the North Window by Po Chü-i
The window empty: two thickets of bamboo. The house tranquil: a single fragrant stove. Beyond the gate, it’s red dust everywhere, and in the city, that white sun hurries on, but I don’t chase after…
Share the Wealth with Mark Chmiel: The Poetry of Denise Levertov
For friends in town over Thanksgiving holiday, join us on Sunday 25 November for a potluck supper and my sharing on Denise Levertov—British-born American, activist, disturber of the peace, whose poetry from the 1960s to…
Latin America Reading Group: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
This month, we meet to discuss Junot Díaz’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao– Beginning at 8:00 p.m. At the home of Josh and Laura Aranda 6312 West Park Avenue (in…
Sorrow of Departure by Li Ch’ing-chao
To the Tune “Cutting a Flowering Plum Branch” Red lotus incense fades on The jeweled curtain. Autumn Comes again. Gently I open My silk dress and float alone On the orchid boat. Who can Take…
A Poem by Li Ch’ing-chao (Lǐ Qīngzhào)
Autumn Love “A Weary Song to a Slow Sad Tune” Search. Search. Seek. Seek. Cold. Cold. Clear. Clear. Sorrow. Sorrow. Pain. Pain. Hot flashes. Sudden chills. Stabbing pains. Slow agonies. I can find no peace.