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Poetry. Asian Studies. Translated from the Japanese by Soiku
Shigematsu. This volume collects the pithy phrases handed down
through a distinguished line of Chines and Japanese Zen masters
that comprise the essence of Zen. First compiled in the 16th and
17th century Japan, the sayings range from the profound to the
mystifying to the comical. A ZEN FOREST, according to the Gary
Snyder, the author of the preface, is the meeting place of the
highest and the most humble: the great poets and the old women's
sayings'."
In 1969 Gary Snyder returned from a long residence in Japan to
northern California, to a homestead in the Sierra foothills where
he intended to build a house and settle on the land with his wife
and young sons. He had just published his first book of essays,
Earth House Hold. A few years before, after a long absence, Wendell
Berry left New York City to return to land near his grandfather's
farm in Port Royal, Kentucky, where he built a small studio and
lived there with his wife as they restored an old house on their
newly acquired homestead. In 1969 Berry had just published
Long-Legged House. These two founding members of the counterculture
and of the new environmental movement had yet to meet, but they
knew each other's work, and soon they began a correspondence.
Neither man could have imagined the impact their work would have on
American political and literary culture, nor could they have
appreciated the impact they would have on one another.Snyder had
thrown over all vestiges of Christianity in favor of becoming a
devoted Buddhist and Zen practitioner, and had lived in Japan for a
prolonged period to develop this practice. Berry's discomfort with
the Christianity of his native land caused him to become something
of a renegade Christian, troubled by the church and organized
religion, but grounded in its vocabulary and its narrative.
Religion and spirituality seemed like a natural topic for the two
men to discuss, and discuss they did.They exchanged more than 240
letters from 1973 to 2013, remarkable letters of insight and
argument. The two bring out the best in each other, as they grapple
with issues of faith and reason, discuss ideas of home and family,
worry over the disintegration of community and commonwealth, and
share the details of the lives they've chosen to live with their
wives and children. Contemporary American culture is the landscape
they reside on. Environmentalism, sustainability, global politics
and American involvement, literature, poetry and progressive
ideals, these two public intellectuals address issues as broad as
are found in any exchange in literature.No one can be unaffected by
the complexity of their relationship, the subtlety of their
arguments, and the grace of their friendship. This is a book for
the ages.
These Pulitzer Prize-winning poems and essays by the author of No
Nature range from the lucid, lyrical, and mystical to the
political. All, however, share a common vision: a rediscovery of
North America and the ways by which we might become true natives of
the land for the first time.
"As a poet," Snyder tells us, "I hold the most archaic values on
earth. They go back to the late Paleolithic; the fertility of the
soil, the magic of animals, the power-vision in solitude, the
terrifying intuition and rebirth; the love and ecstasy of the
dance, the common work of the tribe." He develops, as replacement
for shattered social structures. a concept of tribal tradition
which could lead to "growth and enlightenment in self-disciplined
freedom. Whatever it is or ever was in any other culture can be
reconstructed from the unconscious through meditation...the coming
revolution will close the circle and link us in many ways with the
most creative aspects of our archaic past."
***This paperback edition has a new introduction by the author and
updated content.
This is the first volume of North Atlantic Books' updated paperback
edition of Dale Pendell's "Pharmako" trilogy, an encyclopedic study
of the history and uses of psychoactive plants and related
synthetics first published between 1995 and 2005. The books form an
interrelated suite of works that provide the reader with a unique,
reliable, and often personal immersion in this medically,
culturally, and spiritually fascinating subject. All three books
are beautifully designed and illustrated, and are written with
unparalleled authority, erudition, playfulness, and range.
"Pharmako/Poeia: Plant Powers, Poisons, and Herbcraft "includes a
new introduction by the author and as in previous editions focuses
on familiar psychoactive plant-derived substances and related
synthetics, ranging from the licit (tobacco, alcohol) to the
illicit (cannabis, opium) and the exotic (absinthe, salvia
divinorum, nitrous oxide). Each substance is explored in detail,
not only with information on its history, pharmacology,
preparation, and cultural and esoteric correspondences, but also
the subtleties of each plant's effect on consciousness in a way
that only poets can do. The whole concoction is sprinkled with
abundant quotations from famous writers, creating a literary brew
as intoxicating as its subject.
The "Pharmako" series is continued in "Pharmako/Dynamis" (focusing
on stimulants and empathogens) and "Pharmako/Gnosis "(which
addresses psychedelics and shamanic plants).
"Wild nature as the ultimate ground of human affairs"--the
beautiful, precarious balance among forces and species forms a
unifying theme for the new poems in this collection. The title,
Regarding Wave, reflects "a half-buried series of word origins
dating back through the Indo-European language: intersections of
energy, woman, song and 'Gone Beyond Wisdom.'" Central to the work
is a cycle of songs for Snyder's wife, Masa, and their first son,
Kai. Probing even further than Snyder's previous collection of
poems, The Back Country, this new volume freshly explores "the most
archaic values on earth... the fertility of the soil, the magic of
animals, the power-vision in solitude, the terrifying initiation
and rebirth, the love and ecstasy of the dance, the common work of
the tribe..."
The three sequences in the book-"Logging," "Hunting,"
"Burning"-show the remarkable cohesiveness in Snyder's writings
over the years, for we find the poet absorbed, then as now, with
Buddhist and Amerindian lore and other interconnections East and
West, but above all with the premedical devotion to the land and
work.
By any measure, Gary Snyder is one of the greatest poets in America
in the last century. From his first book of poems to his latest
collection of essays, his work and his example, standing between Tu
Fu and Thoreau, have been influential all over the world. Riprap,
his first book of poems, was published in Japan in 1959 by Origin
Press, and it is the fiftieth anniversary of that groundbreaking
book we celebrate with this edition. A small press reprint of that
book included Snyder's translations of Han Shan's Cold Mountain
Poems, perhaps the finest translations of that remarkable poet ever
made into English. Reintroducing one of the twentieth century's
foremost collections of poetry, this edition will please those
already familiar with this work and excite a new generation of
readers with its profound simplicity and spare elegance.
In this thoughtful, affectionate collection of interviews and
letters spanning three decades, beloved poet Gary Snyder talks with
South African writer and scholar Julia Martin. Over this period
many things changed decisively--globally, locally, and in their
personal lives--and these changing conditions provide the back
story for a long conversation. It begins in the early 1980s as an
intellectual exchange between an earnest graduate student and a
generous distinguished writer, and becomes a long-distance
friendship and an exploration of spiritual practice.
At the project's heart is Snyder's understanding of Buddhism. Again
and again, the conversations return to an explication of the
teachings. Snyder's characteristic approach is to articulate a
direct experience of Buddhist practice rather than any kind of
abstract philosophy. In the version he describes here, this
practice finds expression not primarily as an Asian import or a
monastic ideal, but in the specificities of a householder's life as
lived creatively in a particular location at a particular moment in
history. This means that whatever "topic" a dialogue explores,
there is a sense that all of it is about practice--the
spiritual-social practice of a contemporary poet.
**A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of 2012**
Lew Welch was a brilliant and troubled poet, legendary among his
Beat peers. Ring of Bone collects poems, songs, and even a few
drawings, documenting the full sweep of his creative output, from
his early years until just before his death. This new edition
includes a biographic timeline and a statement of poetics gleaned
from Welch's own writing.
Welch entered Reed College in 1948, and the following year moved
into a house with Gary Snyder; they were soon joined by Philip
Whalen. With the emergence of the Beat movement, Welch's friends
began receiving national attention and his desire to devote himself
completely to his poetry was galvanized. He soon became a part of
the San Francisco poetry scene.
Legendary editor Donald Allen included Welch's poetry in The New
American Poetry - the seminal anthology published in 1960. That
same year Welch's first book, Wobbly Rock, was released. He
continued to write extensively, and in 1965 published three books.
Despite his burgeoning success, Welch suffered from bouts with
depression, and on May 23, 1971, Gary Snyder went up to Welch's
campsite in the Sierra Nevada mountains and found a suicide note.
Despite an extensive search, Welch's body was never recovered.
"Lew Welch writes lyrical poems of clarity, humor, and dark
probings . . . jazz musical phrasings of American speech is one of
Welch's clearest contributions." --Gary Snyder
..".Music permeates his poems, which range from scored lyrics to
epistolary correspondence to formal villanelles... It's fascinating
to trace the evolution of this artist, from his early, lax,
exultant style to his later, less jubilant work, characterized by
benedictions, invocations, and requests. This is a necessary read
for anyone interested in the greater Beat movement and its
progenitors."--Booklist
""His luminous poems feel as vibrant today as when they first burst
from the wellsprings of creativity in his own head... A postmodern
Walt Whitman. . ."--San Francisco Chronicle
"In the poet's own words, " Ring of Bone]" is a spiritual
autobiography . . . no better description of him exists than that
which came in his own vision, deep in the wilds of the Klamath
Mountains, the poem after which the collection is titled. . . .
These 40 years later, Lew, you are missed."--"The Rumpus"
""Ring of Bone: Collected Poems" is Welch's major work. Exuberant,
funny, dark, hypnotic, Welch's poems are as infused with nature as
Gary] Snyder's and as spiritually alive as Philip] Whalen's.
They're technically brilliant, grounded in form and wildly
experimental. . . ."--"The Oregonion"
This collection is made up of four sections: "Far West"--poems of
the Western mountain country where, as a young man. Gary Snyder
worked as a logger and forest ranger; "Far East"--poems written
between 1956 and 1964 in Japan where he studied Zen at the
monastery in Kyoto; "Kali"--poems inspired by a visit to India and
his reading of Indian religious texts, particularly those of
Shivaism and Tibetan Buddhism; and "Back"--poems done on his return
to this country in 1964 which look again at our West with the eyes
of India and Japan. The book concludes with a group of translations
of the Japanese poet Miyazawa Kenji (1896-1933), with whose work
Snyder feels a close affinity. The title, The Back Country, has
three major associations; wilderness. the "backward" countries, and
the "back country" of the mind with its levels of being in the
unconscious.
As an especially beautiful and pure example of the archaic epic
styles that were once current among the hunting and fishing peoples
of northern Asia, the Ainu epic folklore is of immense literary
value. This collection and English translation by Donald Philippi
contains thirty-three representative selections from a number of
epic genres including mythic epics, culture hero epics, women's
epics, and heroic epics. This is the first time, outside of Japan,
that the Ainu epic folklore has been treated in a comprehensive
manner. Originally published in 1979. The Princeton Legacy Library
uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available
previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of
Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original
texts of these important books while presenting them in durable
paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy
Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage
found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University
Press since its founding in 1905.
Describing the title of his collection of poetry and occasional
prose pieces, Gary Snyder writes in his introductory note that
Turtle Island is the old / new name for the continent, based on
many creation myths of the people who have been here for millennia,
and reapplied by some of them to 'North America' in recent years.
The nearly five dozen poems in the book range from the lucid,
lyrical, almost mystical to the mytho-biotic, while a few are
frankly political. All, however, share a common vision: a
rediscovery of this land and the ways by which we might become
natives of the place, ceasing to think and act (after all these
centuries) as newcomers and invaders. Of particular interest is the
full text of the ever more relevant Four Changes, Snyder's seminal
manifesto for environmental awareness.
As an especially beautiful and pure example of the archaic epic
styles that were once current among the hunting and fishing peoples
of northern Asia, the Ainu epic folklore is of immense literary
value. This collection and English translation by Donald Philippi
contains thirty-three representative selections from a number of
epic genres including mythic epics, culture hero epics, women's
epics, and heroic epics. This is the first time, outside of Japan,
that the Ainu epic folklore has been treated in a comprehensive
manner. Originally published in 1979. The Princeton Legacy Library
uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available
previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of
Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original
texts of these important books while presenting them in durable
paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy
Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage
found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University
Press since its founding in 1905.
In simple, striking verse, legendary poet Gary Snyder weaves an
epic discourse on the topics of geology, prehistory, and mythology.
First published in 1996, this landmark work encompasses Asian
artistic traditions, as well as Native American storytelling and
Zen Buddhist philosophy, and celebrates the disparate elements of
the Earth -- sky, rock, water -- while exploring the human
connection to nature with stunning wisdom. Winner of the Bollingen
Poetry Prize, the Robert Kirsch Lifetime Achievement Award, and the
Orion Society's John Hay Award, among others, Gary Snyder finds his
quiet brilliance celebrated in this new edition of one of his most
treasured works.
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