NEW HOPE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW ON-LINE

The international voice of the Nihon Kajin Club, dedicated to the promotion of

tanka poems and related essays in various languages.

Tanka can be a fairly mysterious tradition in the West, certainly less well-known than its cousin haiku. Unfamiliarity isn't a bad thing, of course. A first reading becomes an attempt to penetrate the mystery, to piece together the fragments. As Saito Fumi puts it

	I'm reading tanka in Showa
	Made from used tea leaves

The Club invites its members to submit five tanka for consideration in the Journal. Some have taken this as a cue to produce what is essentially one long poem — explicitly so in the case of James Kirkup's DEATH OF THE SUNFLOWERS, where lines are carried over from the end of one stanza to the beginning of the next. Is this missing the point? Surely the power of the form lies in its brevity?

More effective are individual poems, complete in themselves, or sequences which link together in more oblique fashion, casting light on a subject from different angles. The subjects are, of course, as diverse as the authors themselves. To take just a few examples, Doreen King, evokes the rhythms of time and nature in her series CYCLIC:

	so long — 
	these hot nights
	and long summer days
	is there no end 
	to new moons?

 
	In a far foreign land
	as I live now
	the sound of rippling waves
	on the beach at evening
	stirs memories

	People kill people
	night and day in the world
	I can see
	a black pigeon flying
	above tired young soldiers

the strange situation where Western haiku poets simultaneously write tanka also.

In themselves, these sorts of debates can be rather sterile and off-putting. Coupled with the quality of poetry on offer here, however, they can be seen as strong signs of life. Tanka has been around for a thousand years, and will persist as long as there are humans and a world for them to experience. This journal is a way in to a living tradition.

Nearly all of this magazine is in English or has English translation and its thirty two pages are almost entirely devoted to tanka over 200.

The contributors are international and include English poets, so that there is a varied and interesting selection of work, ensuring that everyone will find something to their taste. There is a short report on a Tanka Convention in Bangkok, where there was a strong contribution from Thai people. Miss Kanyarat Buakhachorn received the first prize for

	When you are
	in a sorrowful mood,
	please accept
	this loving smile
	from me

The magazine has much of interest in it and is well worth reading even if tanka are not a main-interest for you.

Truly international publications are a rarity, but this rather remarkable magazine is an excellent example of the genre. Its cosmopolitan credentials are justified for practical, linguistic and cultural reasons. Only 34 pages long, THE TANKA JOURNAL is printed with world travel in mind. However, it is only in this respect that it's lightweight. Printed on quality paper, it has a strong and pleasing house style, ensuring generous servings of poetry and commentary.

The Japanese and Roman alphabets sit comfortably side-by-side on a number of pages. This has a pleasing aesthetic impact for most — the Japanese text, for example providing unexpected ornamentation for European readers. On the basis of understanding nothing whatsoever, they can enjoy the script for completely different reasons.

The magazine translates the work of both Japanese and English-speaking writers, and in the ISLAND SONG sequence, celebrates a collaboration, in translation, between Anna Holley and Aya Yuhki. Holley begins:

	hearing
	constant voices
	from the sea
	in the hours on the island
	my heart remains unconsoled.

	"do not forget"
	whisper the pines
	stars lonely
	above the islands
	few and far apart.

	In Hiroshima in August,
	morning breezes blow across the river;
	the water flows as if
	intending to erase history.

	Abandon your weapons
	And protest all together
	Against your statesmen.

	Plastic
	hibiscus petals
	pressed
	between the pages
	of a water-stained book.
		INSPIRED BY WANG WEI'S RIVER JOURNEY

It's noticeable that there are no poems printed in the Japanese original only, despite the fact that THE TANKA JOURNAL is published in Tokyo. This reflects its obvious mission to evangelise the tanka cause. An introductory article about the writer, Takuboku Ishikawa, describes the work of the Tanka Poets' Society, and others, in introducing the work of this genre pioneer to a wide and international readership. Editors' notes in English are included for the first time, following several pages of eclectic, and informative reviews.

The journal reads like a publication about to make an extensive contribution to our understanding of how poetry can resonate across cultural and linguistic barriers.