Translation Works
To Japanese
The 5th Selected Works
minimal
TITLE
minimal
(Minimaru)
AUTHOR
Translator
Originally Published by:
Shichosha (2002)
KEY POINTS
  • Poems in a new form with stanzas consisting of three lines written as the poet's fancy took him.
  • A masterpiece collection of poems, in which "eternity" is woven by something that is the exact opposite of loquacity.
  • Never-ending heart-lightening requiems for life and flowing rhythm of words that record the ticking time.
SYNOPSIS
Strictly and with unlimited gentleness the poet Shuntaro Tanikawa reduces the number of words to the point where he cannot reduce any more in composing the 30 poems included in this collection in three chapters. One of the poems in chapter one titled "Soshite (And)" is composed of a very small number of words as follows: When summer comes / the cicadas /sing again. Fireworks / freeze / in my memory. Distant countries are dim / but the universe / is right in front of your nose. What a blessing / that people /can die leaving behind /only the conjunction /"and." Several years before this collection of poems was issued, the author had become tired of himself for making it too easy to write a poem and being unable to see the world without the eyes of poet. He wanted to keep himself away from poetry, and not to write poems for a while. Then, invited by his friend, he joined a gathering of "Yohaku Kukai," a haiku club, and came in touch with the world of haiku where the whole world is contained in the 17 syllables of a haiku poem. He also had an opportunity to visit China. During this relaxing trip to China, a number of short poems were written unexpectedly. It seems that, without being aware of it, the poet was synchronized with something that belongs to haiku and a certain type of Chinese poems, which is "exactly the opposite of loquacity." This book includes thirty poems in the "minimal" form, which was new to the poet himself at this point.
This collection of poems was published in 2002 with newly translated English translation in the same book.
*Translators of the above-quoted poems: William I.Elliott and Kazuo Kawamura.
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