Poetry Kanto 2006

Editor's Note
Alan Botsford

A poem, it can be said, ambulates or moves from place to place on ‘metrical feet’, aspiring to exceed the limits or bounds of place. That place, for starters, is the page. If in the act of writing the poet inclines her or his ear towards the blank page and hears the voice within that says: “Now it’s your firecracker of a world to ignite, as all things get ready to dance!” and in the process feels a spark of language, a dynamic in words that hopefully, mysteriously will be set in motion in the reader as well, then indeed we may say the mental, emotional, or spiritual horizons a poem can open up are truly boundless. Such a poemﾕs ambit, its circuit, its compass– its “sphere of action, expression, or influence,” to borrow from Webster’s definition of ‘ambition’–is evidence of how the personal may spark the political.

A poem’s sparks of verbal energy can cause us, then, to hear questions rising up within us, such as: How do we stop a poem bent on taking us to a new place, that tends toward the great unknown, that uses its fear and knows its power? How do we know when a poem’s not a message in a bottle but a ship carrying free men and free women to a free world? If the poet transacts his or her business in words, at times spending money like water (not blindly), how does he or she know replenishment is always at hand, knowing when to catch the wave when it crests? And, when a poem succeeds in speaking to us from the depths of our aliveness, how may we learn to live beautifully from those depths, splashing like dolphins in the sea through the waves, swimming safely in and out of the currents?

Among the voices of the poems offered here in the following pages, you will not find Sirens lulling unsuspecting seafarers toward rocky shoals. Rather we hope you will find these poems to be more like lighthouses of a vast mental ocean. Maybe, with luck, sparks will fly from these pages. Gracious reader, get ready to dance.

CONTENTS

Sarah Arvio

Ann Fisher-Wirth

McArthur Gunter (Cosmos III)

Jennifer Michael Hecht

Ishigaki Rin/石垣りん

Kawasaki Hiroshi/川崎洋

Kuroda Saburo/ 黒田三郎

Michele Leggott

Nagase Kiyoko /永瀬清子

Gregory Orr

Alan Botsford

Michael Sowder

Taguchi Inuo / 田口犬男

Takarabe Toriko / 財部鳥子

review of JAPAN'S OFFICIAL POETRY BOXING COMPETITION

Japan Reading Boxing Association's Annual Poetry Boxing Competition 
Inno Hall near Toranomon Station in Tokyo 

At the sound of the bell, the bow-tie-clad referee in the ring steps forward, shouts 'Fight-o!', then steps back and lets the 'poetry boxer' into the spotlight to recite her or his poem. Japan Reading Boxing Association's Annual Poetry Boxing Competition at Inno Hall near Toranomon station in Tokyo is underway. Sixteen contestants--champions of varying ages--from teens to 40s, and from various prefectures throughout the country--compete for the title of 2006 Poetry Boxing Champion of Japan. For the next three hours, there's barely a lull in the buzz and energy on stage and in the audience. Pairs of NHK cameramen in the hall are busily filming for a TV program of the event (to be aired on NHK sometime in the near future).The crowd, five hundred strong, listens intently, even actively--some children giggle and let out cries of glee in response to certain poets' performances. The performers' costumes are eye-catching: one young man in top hat, tails, and white gloves; a tall woman in nurse whites; a slim marathon runner in shorts and tank top; a Nepalese beauty in a bright red saree; a girl in a classic high school blue uniform; a short-haired woman clad in swirling, multi-colored robes. Altogether quite a spectacle. And the poetry? The contestants recite in Japanese at a brisk pace, the winners advancing from the first round of sixteen, to the quarterfinals, to the semi-finals, through to the finals. As the final round comes to a close, the two finalists--Nepal's Mahatto Laritto Maya, and Japan's Kimura Yumi--are quickly given four envelopes with four different topics from which to choose. They must perform extemporaneously on stage. The audience is enthralled. The winner? Kimura Yumi. The seven judges--among them manga artist and TV personality Ebisu-san, as well as British-born radio deejay Peter Barakan--file dutifully on stage for final comments and the awards ceremony. For excitement and spectacle, it was well worth the price of admission. Next year's competition will be held in October. 

--Alan Botsford