Brother and Cedar share space

I’ve been able to find some epic Japanese travel poems and stories both in and out of the library at Evergreen. It’s an unusual way for me to write… to first do a bunch of research and then write. I really like that it is different than my normal way.  I am learning by leaving my box.

I worked for a newspaper in Alaska and was basically told what to write. Which was quite easy. Interview someone, do some research for a few days or a couple of hours then write. Go to an event, write.  Everything was very quick and not very deep. I kept a column while traveling in Mexico and basically wrote anything that I wanted without any research. In the past eight years I have written one book, two long stories and a dozen short stories… none of which are complete and/or published. I can honestly say that I am addicted to works in progress. None of the stories include a single hour of research besides my own life… All of them were written subconsciously.

But this style….research first…allow the research to guide the paper… it is actually quite fun! Today I realized how similar my life in Alaska is to the Japanese writers I am reading. The way they describe the moon, geese, the sound of a mountain stream and the deep feeling of joy found in nature. They use such simple words to define such depth. I absolutely love their writing!!!

So yeah… over the past couple of days my project has turned from something I dreaded into something I am super pumped about.  I am able to read a bunch of Japanese poetry, watch Japanese films, study Japanese texts, history and culture…!!! while finding similarities in the way we view home as a journey…   Perfect!

With that being said, I have no idea how my paper is going to turn out… but as long as I am learning about something I am passionate about and having fun along the way… It’s not about the destination it’s about the journey.

Mirror for the Moon

A Selection of Poems by Saigyo (1118-1190)

“Here I huddle, alone,

In the mountain’s shadow, needing

Some companion somehow:

The cold, biting rains pass off

And give me the winter moon.”

hitori sumu

katayama kage no

tomo nare ya

arashi ni haruru

fufu no yo no tsuki

“The sound of a swollen

Mountain stream rapidly rushing

Makes one know

How very quickly life itself

Is pressed along its course.”

yamakawa no

minagiru mizu no

oto kikeba

semuru inochi zo

omoishiraruru