Always Filling, Always Full ebook

by William J. Higginson,Margaret Chula

William J. Higginson Margaret Chula History and Criticism English

"This book is welcome proof of the universality and the particularity of the human heart."—Jane Hirshfield

The ancient Japanese form of tanka has been used since literature was first recorded in the Kojiki in 712. By the 1600s, however, tanka had fallen out of favor. The form was revived in the early 1900s, and has grown steadily since. "I do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; I seek the things they sought," said Basho, and the same could be said by Chula. This collection blends Japanese tradition with an American sensibility to produce poems concise, moving, and filled with vivid perception of the range of human feeling.

Maggie Chula spent twelve years living and studying in Kyoto, Japan, and has published three collections of haiku. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Arlana

Margaret Chula was the reason I started writing tanka and her work is the reason I will keep writing this form. Her work is sharp and poignant with such vivid imagery. She is a credit to this form and I could not recommend this book more highly.

Jogas

Why do I rejoice in Margaret Chula's new volume of tanka poems, Always Filling, Always Full?
Poetry is a window and a mirror, and Margaret Chula's poems are composed of the finest glass. She shapes translucent images to clarify the outer world known by our senses. She breathes transparent words to illuminate the inner world only half-known by our hearts.
Chula's images - copper leaves, fireflies, spring nests - call us to let the body's knowledge of its surroundings shine through into awareness.
Her words - about being in love and out of love, about encounters with sorrow and bewilderment and acceptance - challenge us to light our own lives with honesty.
Page by page Chula demonstrates her mastery of the English-language tanka, a five-line form adapted from Japanese literature. With contemporary content and traditional techniques she creates patterns of subtle yet deeply moving resonance between natural image and emotional insight.
The passion and elegance of these poems, collected from Birkenau and Kyoto, from backyard and bedroom, will illuminate every corner of your world.