(no subject)

I can't quite put my finger on what I like so much about this poem, but there's something about it that sticks with me. I enjoy it very much.

Even in translation, there's something very cozy and vivid about it, while at the same time it's so concise. Something about the way it has crisp images in such a compact form, that must be it.

I want to be able to write like that.


Invitation to Liu the 19th

Clear, fresh Lu-yi sake
warms on my little stove.

This evening sky may bring snow.
Come enjoy a cup with me.

--Bai Juyi [Translator: Sam Hamill]

Reading Wednesday

Just finished

The Poetry of Zen translated by Hamill & Seaton. Lovely little volume, and I enjoyed devouring so many bite-sized poems. Half the book was Chinese works, the other half Japanese. A lot of the Japanese works were haiku, and it made me realize that I don't have much taste for the form. Unsure why; maybe some day I'll figure it out. But I did realize that I'd be interested in reading Basho's travel writing.

The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike. This one is a claustrophobic haunted house novel (or rather, haunted apartment building). Don't buy a place next to a graveyard, everybody. Anyway, a quick, breezy, creepy read. This one would be good to adapt as a film, I think.

Currently reading

Forgotten Voices of the Great War by Max Arthur. This is a collection of transcript excerpts from taped interviews in the Sound Archive of the Imperial War Museum in London. As such, it's very British-focused, though there are a few sources from outside Britain as well. 's a neat read, at least. I think I picked this one up when I was trying to get some inspiration for a Valiant Hearts fanfic that never did get written. (That fic still probably won't get written, but who knows.)

Reading next

I rewatched Red Cliff recently, and found myself thinking, maybe I should get around to reading the Romance of Three Kingdoms. I have access to it in ebook format via my library, but unfortunately it's only available through Hoopla, not Overdrive - which means I can only read it on my tablet, not my ereader. Ehh. Being a cheapskate vs reading it on a device I prefer not to use... well, we'll see.

While I'm dithering on that, I'll pick up something else when I head to the library this weekend - will probably be something by a First Nations author, since that's the section I haven't covered as much in my reading challenge yet. No idea about specific titles - usually I just mosey on down to the FN section and pick the first thing my eyes land on, which has been a pretty decent strategy so far. But if any of you guys have suggestions, I'd be interested.