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Salad Anniversary
In her collection of brief poems, Tawara explores the fleeting emotions and momentary experiences that comprise modern life and love
204 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
July 15, 2020
How is it possible that a slim collection of modern tanka poetry by an unknown schoolteacher in her twenties became a runaway bestseller, sold 3 million copies, spawned a cult following, 2 television shows, and a film? This poetry collection utterly decimated the literary climate of Japan. Besides Basho, Tawara appears to have hogged all the available attention in the realm of Japanese poetry, as if she had written the next Man'yōshū.
After reading it, most of my skepticism evaporated. This is a tender evocation of mundane beauties. It is a stunning and startling exploration of modern woes. It is a powerful and profound meditation on love. It is many things, and it is also difficult to describe. Tawara's unconventional approach to tanka writing, as expressed by the translator, was a mixture of old and new. Her reliance on traditional word groupings don't come over into English, but her subject matter is thoroughly modern.
I cherish the bit of crimson
staining your finger
as you open a raw oyster for me
Many of the poems are short stories contained in 3 lines. The apt phrases, chilling metaphors, and effortless artistry are undoubtedly to blame for the book's success. It contains the exact expressions of what love does to perception, of what caring means in the form of small gestures. It is a martial arts lesson in kindness.
The scenery of life, the seasoning of years, the perception of inanimate objects as deeply symbolic, the feminine versus masculine observations on behaviors take on shades of suggestion. City murmurs, encounters with the quiet night, and the magic of the mundane are mixed with enough cultural context to intrigue any Westerner. For instance, did you know Yokohama had a Chinatown?Reverence, intimacy, echoes of the great Haiku poets, hints of infidelity, subtlety, the balanced, soft and harmonious elegance, will leave you breathless
drone of cicadas in a bamboo grove
like a dizziness-
listening, I become bamboo.
After reading it, most of my skepticism evaporated. This is a tender evocation of mundane beauties. It is a stunning and startling exploration of modern woes. It is a powerful and profound meditation on love. It is many things, and it is also difficult to describe. Tawara's unconventional approach to tanka writing, as expressed by the translator, was a mixture of old and new. Her reliance on traditional word groupings don't come over into English, but her subject matter is thoroughly modern.
I cherish the bit of crimson
staining your finger
as you open a raw oyster for me
Many of the poems are short stories contained in 3 lines. The apt phrases, chilling metaphors, and effortless artistry are undoubtedly to blame for the book's success. It contains the exact expressions of what love does to perception, of what caring means in the form of small gestures. It is a martial arts lesson in kindness.
The scenery of life, the seasoning of years, the perception of inanimate objects as deeply symbolic, the feminine versus masculine observations on behaviors take on shades of suggestion. City murmurs, encounters with the quiet night, and the magic of the mundane are mixed with enough cultural context to intrigue any Westerner. For instance, did you know Yokohama had a Chinatown?Reverence, intimacy, echoes of the great Haiku poets, hints of infidelity, subtlety, the balanced, soft and harmonious elegance, will leave you breathless
drone of cicadas in a bamboo grove
like a dizziness-
listening, I become bamboo.
March 1, 2019
One of the most read books of poetry in Japan - Machi Tawara transforms everyday events into deep commentaries on life and love.
May 27, 2015
Salad Anniversary, first published in 1987 in Japan to tremendous following, is now being published By Pushkin Press and will now be available for an American audience. It is comprised of Tawara's tanka poetry on a variety of subjects, most very personal insights into modern life and love. This was a new, personal approach when it first appeared and highly popular and successful.
There is an afterward (which I recommend reading prior to the poetry) which explains tanka poetry. I found it helped to explain some issues I had had with my early reading in the book.
As I read, I found that these deceptively simple poems became more and more appealing in their simplicity and beauty.
Through the falling rain,
a shower of shivering "S" sounds, I watch your
umbrella recede
Your disappearing figure, a little too cool--
It's always the man
who sets off on a journey*
(loc 193, from Salad Anniversary)
There are small moments that struck me. From My Bisymmetrical Self:
the
ordinariness of home
is what I like best
From mother-and-daughter we turn into a pair
of women (loc 239)*
And lastly, from Jazz Concert:
Photographer
snapping away at the stage---he, too, master of
his instrument
Like a hit man
he peers into his camera
wrapped in layers of blue smoky air
.....
On the stage, tangled cords lie sprawled like
bars of melted music
fallen off the page. (loc 261)*
It did take me a little reading to become comfortable with the format and to slow down, settle in to the words, not hurry though. When I did that, I enjoyed this book and plan to read it again.
Any issues of layout are mine.
Recommended for those who enjoy poetry.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
There is an afterward (which I recommend reading prior to the poetry) which explains tanka poetry. I found it helped to explain some issues I had had with my early reading in the book.
As I read, I found that these deceptively simple poems became more and more appealing in their simplicity and beauty.
Through the falling rain,
a shower of shivering "S" sounds, I watch your
umbrella recede
Your disappearing figure, a little too cool--
It's always the man
who sets off on a journey*
(loc 193, from Salad Anniversary)
There are small moments that struck me. From My Bisymmetrical Self:
the
ordinariness of home
is what I like best
From mother-and-daughter we turn into a pair
of women (loc 239)*
And lastly, from Jazz Concert:
Photographer
snapping away at the stage---he, too, master of
his instrument
Like a hit man
he peers into his camera
wrapped in layers of blue smoky air
.....
On the stage, tangled cords lie sprawled like
bars of melted music
fallen off the page. (loc 261)*
It did take me a little reading to become comfortable with the format and to slow down, settle in to the words, not hurry though. When I did that, I enjoyed this book and plan to read it again.
Any issues of layout are mine.
Recommended for those who enjoy poetry.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
April 5, 2015
'Salad Anniversary' is a marvelous collection of poetry. Machi Tawara has managed to elevate a traditional poetic form to an entire new level, incorporating everyday matters and feelings into it in the most successful way possible.
Anyone who has experienced love, its initial excitement and its eventual loss will find themselves nodding in silent agreement to the feelings and situations described. I loved how each poem was like a short story by itself, but they all connected with each other somehow, as the personal element was evident in most of them.
Loneliness and emptiness are prevalent in all the poems, and the collection leaves you off with the bittersweet feeling of loss. However, not all the poems are about love. Machi Tawara also explores themes such as family, her experience as a school teacher, travelling and so on.
Overall, it is a poetry collection that I treasure immensely now, as the tenderness and despair of the poems have hit home for me. I loved every bit of this book and I can completely understand why it has gained this enormous recognition in Japan.
A copy was gently provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley.
Anyone who has experienced love, its initial excitement and its eventual loss will find themselves nodding in silent agreement to the feelings and situations described. I loved how each poem was like a short story by itself, but they all connected with each other somehow, as the personal element was evident in most of them.
Loneliness and emptiness are prevalent in all the poems, and the collection leaves you off with the bittersweet feeling of loss. However, not all the poems are about love. Machi Tawara also explores themes such as family, her experience as a school teacher, travelling and so on.
Overall, it is a poetry collection that I treasure immensely now, as the tenderness and despair of the poems have hit home for me. I loved every bit of this book and I can completely understand why it has gained this enormous recognition in Japan.
A copy was gently provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley.
December 7, 2016
Small poetic envelopes stuffed with moments, when opened, showing the wonderful rich and deep world of daily life. Perfect gifts, drawn from life. Splendid.
Read
March 15, 2024"Marry me,"
after two canned cocktails—
are you sure you want to say that?
+
Poetry is not a genre I usually go for but Machi Tawara's Salad Anniversary gives sparkle to seemingly ordinary things. It's something that even those like me who aren't used to the genre would appreciate.
August 21, 2019
Pitko, slatko – ali ponekad preslatko. Dopao mi se način na koji Tawamara kombinuje neke obične prizore svakodnevice, delove menijalnih poslova, momente izmedju momenata i kako oslanjajući na tu običnost traži poreklo sve te neobičnosti koja krasi ljubav i njoj slična osećanja. U svakom slučaju vredi čitanja i prijatno je iskustvo savremene japanske, ali i svetske poezije.
3+
3+
January 24, 2015
Salad Anniversary was first published in 1987 and within the first six months it had sold 2.5 million copies in Japan alone. According to the press release that came with this newly reprinted edition, it has now sold 9 million copies worldwide. How’s that for an impressive figure?
And I can see why it’s so popular: these poems (there’s 15 in total) slip down like hot chocolate. They’re all rather sweet and easy to read, brimming with life, energy and wit, yet there’s something rather soothing about them, too. That’s probably because of the way they are structured, for these poems are technically called “Tanka”, an ancient Japanese form of poetry in which each poem traditionally comprises 31 syllables arranged over five lines in a 5-7-5-7-7 pattern.
However, in the Afterword, the translator explains that not all of the poems follow the strict 5-7-5-7-7 format and that they are almost always written in a single line in Japanese. In this English translation most of the poems are structured over three lines and read more like Haiku (17 syllables over three lines following a 5-7-5 pattern). But this is all by the by: you don’t read this collection to quibble over syllable counts and the number of lines; you read it to be transported into another world.
And what a world Tawara creates. There are many recurring themes, often revolving around romantic love, cooking, travel and the weather, but the main overriding theme is the ordinariness in our day-to-day lives. The irony is that she writes about it in a far from ordinary way.
To read my review in full, please visit my blog.
And I can see why it’s so popular: these poems (there’s 15 in total) slip down like hot chocolate. They’re all rather sweet and easy to read, brimming with life, energy and wit, yet there’s something rather soothing about them, too. That’s probably because of the way they are structured, for these poems are technically called “Tanka”, an ancient Japanese form of poetry in which each poem traditionally comprises 31 syllables arranged over five lines in a 5-7-5-7-7 pattern.
However, in the Afterword, the translator explains that not all of the poems follow the strict 5-7-5-7-7 format and that they are almost always written in a single line in Japanese. In this English translation most of the poems are structured over three lines and read more like Haiku (17 syllables over three lines following a 5-7-5 pattern). But this is all by the by: you don’t read this collection to quibble over syllable counts and the number of lines; you read it to be transported into another world.
And what a world Tawara creates. There are many recurring themes, often revolving around romantic love, cooking, travel and the weather, but the main overriding theme is the ordinariness in our day-to-day lives. The irony is that she writes about it in a far from ordinary way.
To read my review in full, please visit my blog.
November 9, 2016
me he vuelto a leer los poemas que guardé como favoritos y le cambio las 4 estrellitas a un 5.
os animo a leerlo, que es muy cortito y muy ameno, os lo acabáis en nada. la edición que hay en españa es bastante fea, eso sí es cierto, pero la traducción de kayoko takagi es increíblemente fiel. os dejo por aquí mis favoritos para que os entre en gusanillo:
72. "Nací para correr"-dices.
Para ti, que no tienes pueblo adonde volver,
quiero ser tu mar
77. Poemas de amor antiguos
me afectan todos esta noche.
Pongo un círculo en todos ellos
87. Como la nieve cayendo
desde el pueblo donde vive mi madre,
soledad en Tokio
114. Tienes tus sábados, lo sé.
Los míos se pasan
fingiendo no darme cuenta
132. ¡Sal, pálido sol!
Este sentimiento de otoño
de perderte
199. Recordando tu chiste
se me escapa la risa
en mitad de la muchedumbre
202. Si mañana no va a llegar nunca
te lo contaré todo
antes de quedarme dormida
281. En mi mesa
el aroma de café tan rico
¡Cómo puedo pensar en vivir
sólo de amor!
284. Mi perfil dentro de un año
¿a qué mirará?
¿a quién mirará?
285. Me acuerdo de tus manos,
tu espalda, tu respiración,
tus calcetines blancos
dejados donde te los quitaste
287. De pie en la salida del metro
me da un vuelco el corazón,
no hay nadie esperándome
299. Tomo mi corazón herido,
lo lanzo con todas mis fuerzas,
¡que el cielo de mañana esté despejado!
306. Dejando en el andén solo
mi deseo de seguir contigo hasta mañana
tomo el último tren
321. El día en el que me voy
mi padre no murmura
"así que te vas!
sino "así que nos dejas"
408. Delicadamente
florece el cosmos
bajo la luz morada y transparente del sol
sin saber nada del pasado otoño
os animo a leerlo, que es muy cortito y muy ameno, os lo acabáis en nada. la edición que hay en españa es bastante fea, eso sí es cierto, pero la traducción de kayoko takagi es increíblemente fiel. os dejo por aquí mis favoritos para que os entre en gusanillo:
72. "Nací para correr"-dices.
Para ti, que no tienes pueblo adonde volver,
quiero ser tu mar
77. Poemas de amor antiguos
me afectan todos esta noche.
Pongo un círculo en todos ellos
87. Como la nieve cayendo
desde el pueblo donde vive mi madre,
soledad en Tokio
114. Tienes tus sábados, lo sé.
Los míos se pasan
fingiendo no darme cuenta
132. ¡Sal, pálido sol!
Este sentimiento de otoño
de perderte
199. Recordando tu chiste
se me escapa la risa
en mitad de la muchedumbre
202. Si mañana no va a llegar nunca
te lo contaré todo
antes de quedarme dormida
281. En mi mesa
el aroma de café tan rico
¡Cómo puedo pensar en vivir
sólo de amor!
284. Mi perfil dentro de un año
¿a qué mirará?
¿a quién mirará?
285. Me acuerdo de tus manos,
tu espalda, tu respiración,
tus calcetines blancos
dejados donde te los quitaste
287. De pie en la salida del metro
me da un vuelco el corazón,
no hay nadie esperándome
299. Tomo mi corazón herido,
lo lanzo con todas mis fuerzas,
¡que el cielo de mañana esté despejado!
306. Dejando en el andén solo
mi deseo de seguir contigo hasta mañana
tomo el último tren
321. El día en el que me voy
mi padre no murmura
"así que te vas!
sino "así que nos dejas"
408. Delicadamente
florece el cosmos
bajo la luz morada y transparente del sol
sin saber nada del pasado otoño
April 12, 2007
This is a gem of contemporary haiku and tanka. It reads like a collection of short stories, almost. If you've lived in Japan particularly, you'll enjoy the memories of vivid sights, smells, sounds, and feelings that are brought to life by a few evocative words. But I'd say any female who has ever thought herself in love will connect with Ms. Machi-chan's imagery. And any lover of small things will appreciate her sensibility...
May 14, 2015
3.5 There has been a LOT lost in translation unfortunately but glimmers still remain.
February 11, 2023
Poesía sencilla, amena y cotidiana. Muy fácil identificarse con Tawara.
February 7, 2024
must reread with a more open heart!
can't believe they dared compare machi to rupi kaur though. more than mildly insulting.
can't believe they dared compare machi to rupi kaur though. more than mildly insulting.
March 22, 2019
Exquisite Japanese tanka in pomo-style.
April 19, 2015
The fact that "Salad Anniversary" sold over two point five million copies in Japan on its initial publication in 1987, would raise the eyebrow of any lover of poetry, add to this that it also created a phenomenon comparable to writers such as Banana Yoshimoto or Haruki Murakami, in the process turning a shy & retiring school teacher into a celebrity, hosting shows both on TV & Radio that promoted poetry. Now write into this tale that it was written in a format (Tanka) that can trace it's roots to the eighth century (Waka) and that it also received critical acclaim, winning 32nd Kadokawa Tanka Prize and the 32nd Modern Japanese Poets Association Award, Got your attention! – Good.
Tanka* (短歌 "short poem") is a genre of classical Japanese poetry,
originally, in the time of the Man'yōshū (latter half of the eighth century AD), the term Tanka was used to distinguish "short poems" from the longer chōka, or long poems (長歌). In the ninth and tenth centuries the short poem became the dominant form of poetry in Japan, and the originally general word Waka became the standard name for this form. Japanese poet and critic Masaoka Shiki** revived the term Tanka in the early twentieth century for his statement that "waka should be renewed and modernized" with the Man'yōshū (Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves) as the reference point. After the 2nd world war it fell out of favour again, considered out of date, although this changed during the late 1980s after it was explored and revived by contemporary poets such as Machi Tawara
Jazz concert
The guitarist's mouth,
Half open as he plays –
Jazz, a downpour of sound and rhythm.
The drum beats on, never knowing of the
Staves pounding rhythmically into my flesh
Standing on the amplifier
Where horizontal and
Vertical sound waves converge –
a can of beer
By the end of the musicians second number
I am drenched in notes.
The above is part of a poem with the title Jazz Concert, and that is my dilemma in writing about this book, for example the opening section "August Morning" is a fifty poem sequence and it was this that got her the original attention and that received the 32nd Kadokawa Tanka Prize, also these poems would originally have been written as a single vertical line, three to a page. This means that what appears here on my post, is what I've chosen to place, arbitrarily ending the sequence at a place I've deemed fitting. All I can state is that these poems work as a whole and read like a diary and, like a diary they are full of emotion, the writing comes off the page with an exuberance, a sparkle and an honesty that draws you in, lines like:
Like getting up to leave a hamburger place –
that's how I'll leave
that man
resonate and show how by combining a classical, almost derided format, with modern language and imagery, Machi Tawara woke up a nation to its own poetic history and in the process reinvigorated it. What is also amazing, is the response she received back from her readers. Inspired by her words, by her poetry - they sent her thousands of letters and in these letters were well over 200,000 tanka composed by her fans in acknowledgement to how she had affected them. She went on to choose 1,500, which were published in book form - the oldest contributor was a 91 year old man and the youngest an 11 year old girl.
The Day I left for Tokyo
Mother looked older by all the years of
separation ahead
Tanka* (短歌 "short poem") is a genre of classical Japanese poetry,
originally, in the time of the Man'yōshū (latter half of the eighth century AD), the term Tanka was used to distinguish "short poems" from the longer chōka, or long poems (長歌). In the ninth and tenth centuries the short poem became the dominant form of poetry in Japan, and the originally general word Waka became the standard name for this form. Japanese poet and critic Masaoka Shiki** revived the term Tanka in the early twentieth century for his statement that "waka should be renewed and modernized" with the Man'yōshū (Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves) as the reference point. After the 2nd world war it fell out of favour again, considered out of date, although this changed during the late 1980s after it was explored and revived by contemporary poets such as Machi Tawara
Jazz concert
The guitarist's mouth,
Half open as he plays –
Jazz, a downpour of sound and rhythm.
The drum beats on, never knowing of the
Staves pounding rhythmically into my flesh
Standing on the amplifier
Where horizontal and
Vertical sound waves converge –
a can of beer
By the end of the musicians second number
I am drenched in notes.
The above is part of a poem with the title Jazz Concert, and that is my dilemma in writing about this book, for example the opening section "August Morning" is a fifty poem sequence and it was this that got her the original attention and that received the 32nd Kadokawa Tanka Prize, also these poems would originally have been written as a single vertical line, three to a page. This means that what appears here on my post, is what I've chosen to place, arbitrarily ending the sequence at a place I've deemed fitting. All I can state is that these poems work as a whole and read like a diary and, like a diary they are full of emotion, the writing comes off the page with an exuberance, a sparkle and an honesty that draws you in, lines like:
Like getting up to leave a hamburger place –
that's how I'll leave
that man
resonate and show how by combining a classical, almost derided format, with modern language and imagery, Machi Tawara woke up a nation to its own poetic history and in the process reinvigorated it. What is also amazing, is the response she received back from her readers. Inspired by her words, by her poetry - they sent her thousands of letters and in these letters were well over 200,000 tanka composed by her fans in acknowledgement to how she had affected them. She went on to choose 1,500, which were published in book form - the oldest contributor was a 91 year old man and the youngest an 11 year old girl.
The Day I left for Tokyo
Mother looked older by all the years of
separation ahead
January 23, 2019
The power of simplicity. This was my first experience with tanka poetry. Machi Tawara doesn't waste a word. I enjoyed this so much I read some of the poems half a dozen times before moving on to the next one. Her imagery is so simple, yet the repetition of things like tomatoes, baseball, music and seasons felt so true of relationships. Especially short ones where every little event becomes magnified in memory. Wonderful!
As a side note, this is (apparently) the ***300th*** book I've read, not counting some forgotten school books, books read to me as a child or self-help books I was too embarrassed to add on here. Anyway, congratulations to me! Thanks to all the writers out there.
As a side note, this is (apparently) the ***300th*** book I've read, not counting some forgotten school books, books read to me as a child or self-help books I was too embarrassed to add on here. Anyway, congratulations to me! Thanks to all the writers out there.
January 8, 2024
My first time to read tanka poems and love reading women’s translated lit. Read this continously per chapter and feel the imagery through Machi-chan’s prose. Also added this to books published on my birth year- 1987.
November 26, 2021
"'I want to eat, and not gain weight!' So goes the commercial. I want to be loved - and not have to love."
June 24, 2021
After you have gone
evening gathers in my heart—
all the scenery is you
A beautiful book of poetry combining Japanese tradition with modernity; the perfect read for anyone who wishes poetry could be relatable while retaining its beauty. Tawara’s talent is evident even through translation, and Winters Carpenter has done an incredible job interpreting the sound and feeling of the original tanka throughout.
Warm—knowing
when I say “I’m cold”
you’re there to say “Me too”
I’m loathe to say much because Tawara Machi is such a celebrated poet in Japan that it feels like it’s not really worth my adding on as a bystander, but this is the first book of poetry I’ve enjoyed to this extent, I think. Tawara writes a sort of poem-fiction-diary, which can be read one poem at a time or as a collected whole. The narrative flows smoothly, retaining a subtle ambiguity among the personal details, and each poem reads like a rock skipped across the water.
"Today only!"
Red blouse in the window,
on sale each time I go by
In particular, I find what appeals to me here is how both short and relatable the poems are. Of course, Tawara writes in Japan and in a manner which can seem so personal, but the simple insertions of omurice, McDonalds stores, yellow lights, and all the little aspects of everyday living are what give this collection its distinct, comfort-filled feeling. I personally love short poems, too, and find them too often maligned both in the larger poetry world and even here on GoodReads. I’m very happy that I was able to read a collection which satisfies these two particular desires on my part.
Only eighty years to live—
yet the “whys” of twenty-one
resist everything
Don’t assume, though, that short poetry means poetry without rhythm or care—each poem is so delicately crafted, so smooth, so beautiful. Tawara draws upon historical tanka while reinventing the genre, and I only wish that her afterword could’ve been translated and included in the edition I read (which only had Carpenter’s—a great read in its own right)!
Remembering your joke,
I giggle out loud
in the middle of a crowd
I just wish I’d read it before, so that’s what I’ll say—if you’re someone who’s open to poetry, you should absolutely read Salad Anniversary, and if you don’t like poetry, you might find yourself surprised.
One more for the road:
Arriving at the station one minute early
I spend one minute
thinking of you
Isn’t that beautiful?
June 9, 2020
This book isn't for me, but its target audience will love it.
All of the poems are written in the same format. I prefer variety, but the consistency makes sense here. It draws you into a state of comfort so the words can sink in rather than shake you up.
The writing itself is relatable, which I'm hardly ever a fan of. Every line is written the way a normal person speaks, as opposed to traditional poetry which is heavily laden with symbols and strange lyrics. This book is like a journal set to a rhythm. But just when you start getting complacent, you’ll read a stanza that just hits differently.
Van Gogh exhibit -
move from one painting to the next,
seeing in the glass just my own face
This is how minimalist, “relatable” poetry should be written.
The only negative thing I can say is that I believe something was lost in translation. A lot of the lines feel clunky and awkward. I don't speak Japanese, so maybe the original poems are the same, but I feel like it's just the translation.
All of the poems are written in the same format. I prefer variety, but the consistency makes sense here. It draws you into a state of comfort so the words can sink in rather than shake you up.
The writing itself is relatable, which I'm hardly ever a fan of. Every line is written the way a normal person speaks, as opposed to traditional poetry which is heavily laden with symbols and strange lyrics. This book is like a journal set to a rhythm. But just when you start getting complacent, you’ll read a stanza that just hits differently.
Van Gogh exhibit -
move from one painting to the next,
seeing in the glass just my own face
This is how minimalist, “relatable” poetry should be written.
The only negative thing I can say is that I believe something was lost in translation. A lot of the lines feel clunky and awkward. I don't speak Japanese, so maybe the original poems are the same, but I feel like it's just the translation.
November 27, 2020
He intentado prolongar la máximo esta colección de poemas porque de verdad que no quería que se terminaran. Son unos tankas sencillos y simples que logran concentrar todo el encanto de la cotidianeidad de la vida y el amor. Y en conjunto te cuentan una historia, una historia de amor, con momentos de felicidad, altibajos, rupturas y viajes en pareja.
Algunos de mis favoritos:
12. Tu mano izquierda
explorando mis dedos
uno a uno
tal vez sea amor
34. Me toma por tu mujer
la del puesto callejero.
Así que, por un rato, lo seré
199. Recordando tu chiste
se me escapa la risa
en mitad de la muchedumbre
376. Deseo decirte que te quiero
pero todavía seguiré alejada
de la zona en peligro
400. Como el periódico de la mañana
te deslizaste en mi vida
y la palabra "comienzo" adquirió brillo
Algunos de mis favoritos:
12. Tu mano izquierda
explorando mis dedos
uno a uno
tal vez sea amor
34. Me toma por tu mujer
la del puesto callejero.
Así que, por un rato, lo seré
199. Recordando tu chiste
se me escapa la risa
en mitad de la muchedumbre
376. Deseo decirte que te quiero
pero todavía seguiré alejada
de la zona en peligro
400. Como el periódico de la mañana
te deslizaste en mi vida
y la palabra "comienzo" adquirió brillo
November 11, 2019
Poetry.
July 22, 2017
Une lecture qui change et qui est tellement agréable ! C’est frais, c’est touchant, c’est mignon, et ça donne un coup de jeune au tanka, une forme de poésie trop peu connue par chez nous, sans pour autant la dénaturer. Un recueil à picorer sans modération.
Avis complet : https://comaujapon.wordpress.com/2017...
Avis complet : https://comaujapon.wordpress.com/2017...
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December 27, 2022perhaps i'm not well-versed enough in the tanka form to truly appreciate this poetry suite. perhaps the language barriers posed by translation prevent me from seeing the complex interplay between modern/traditional terminology the translator points out in her introduction. perhaps that's why i struggle to see this as a modern classics; the poems are short, sweet and nostalgic but still plain (in terms of style) and utterly unmemorable.
August 11, 2009
Official Web Site of Tawara Machi, Japanese tanka poet:
http://www.gtpweb.net/twr/indexe.htm
The superior translation is by Jack Stamm who used the familiar five line form of tanka, rather than a confusing three line format by Juliet Winters.
Salad Anniversary by Machi Tawara translated by Jack Stamm.
Published in Tokyo, 1987. Paper bound, 4.5 x 6 inches, kanji, and English. Machi Tawara's book, which has sold around 2.5 million copies.
This is an excellent book of short love poems, almost like a verse novel, and Machi Tawara cleverly fuses traditional tanka form with contemporary love lives!
April 26, 2015
Me encantaría aprender japonés para leer estos poemas en su idioma original. Son muy lindos, pero siento que los poemas deben perder mucha emoción al traducirlo a otro idioma, en este caso, al inglés.
January 24, 2015
Un agréable recueil de poèmes.
April 17, 2020
"I want to tell you that I love you
but first let me edge a bit farther
from the safety zone"
but first let me edge a bit farther
from the safety zone"
November 30, 2020
3.5 stars
I just don’t get 95% of poetry
I just don’t get 95% of poetry
May 19, 2022
* Tanka has never been more contemporary or enjoyable! *
The cover description of this collection being ‘unputdownable’ proves entirely accurate, almost frighteningly so.
Machi Tawara personally reestablishing the tanka as a powerful poetry approach with continuing relevance and thrilling capabilities was no easy feat to pull off, and the apparently downright fervent response, an outright national (and global) frenzy of enthusiasm - 8 million copies sold - this book generated one realizes immediately has been well deserved.
Having some familiarity with classical applications of this ancient Eastern short approach (originating in China and long predating haiku and senryu, for eons the go-to approach and method, allowing for an additional fourteen syllable more than those and providing greater flexibility by omitting stringent requirements on subject matter and season word) among lovers in the high courts’ upper echelons, it’s invigorating to find similar feelings and circumstances addressed with the same passion and eloquence in our modern world. Machi Tawara has established herself as a veritable pinnacle and paragon, stewarding the torch she received flickering, stoked to a great blinding blaze and carrying it to a fresh new generation with the most graceful stride.
But be warned, when you crack this thin tome (whose size contrasts its immense weight, is akin to dark matter) be certain you set aside the time to finish it straight away, because you shall have the overwhelming desire and urge to forthwith. One can only describe these tanka as the poetic equivalent of Fentanyl, highly addictive and habit forming. I'll be rereading this several times, have not the slightest doubt.
(I’m saddened to see that Tawara's other two works The Palm of the Wind’s Hand and Chocolate Revolution do not seem to have been translated into English yet, hope they shall be in the future… She does have a wonderful website worth visiting which includes translations of her work by one Professor Cranston!)
The cover description of this collection being ‘unputdownable’ proves entirely accurate, almost frighteningly so.
Machi Tawara personally reestablishing the tanka as a powerful poetry approach with continuing relevance and thrilling capabilities was no easy feat to pull off, and the apparently downright fervent response, an outright national (and global) frenzy of enthusiasm - 8 million copies sold - this book generated one realizes immediately has been well deserved.
Having some familiarity with classical applications of this ancient Eastern short approach (originating in China and long predating haiku and senryu, for eons the go-to approach and method, allowing for an additional fourteen syllable more than those and providing greater flexibility by omitting stringent requirements on subject matter and season word) among lovers in the high courts’ upper echelons, it’s invigorating to find similar feelings and circumstances addressed with the same passion and eloquence in our modern world. Machi Tawara has established herself as a veritable pinnacle and paragon, stewarding the torch she received flickering, stoked to a great blinding blaze and carrying it to a fresh new generation with the most graceful stride.
But be warned, when you crack this thin tome (whose size contrasts its immense weight, is akin to dark matter) be certain you set aside the time to finish it straight away, because you shall have the overwhelming desire and urge to forthwith. One can only describe these tanka as the poetic equivalent of Fentanyl, highly addictive and habit forming. I'll be rereading this several times, have not the slightest doubt.
(I’m saddened to see that Tawara's other two works The Palm of the Wind’s Hand and Chocolate Revolution do not seem to have been translated into English yet, hope they shall be in the future… She does have a wonderful website worth visiting which includes translations of her work by one Professor Cranston!)
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