The Canadian print and online magazine Ekstasis has published Andrew’s poem “The Biblical Maples”, a set of four tanka. The poem can be read on the Ekstasis website here: www.ekstasismagazine.com/poetry/2021/7/25/the-biblical-maples
Poems in The Mozzie
The last two issues of The Mozzie each contain one of Andrew’s poems.
His poem “The Biblical Maples”, a set of four tanka, is in the June 2021 issue (Vol. 29, Issue 1) of The Mozzie.
His poem “Ascendant Maple”, a set of three light-hearted haiku, is in the July 2021 issue (Vol. 29, Issue 2) of The Mozzie.
5 poems in Quadrant
The latest issue (July-August 2021) of Quadrant magazine includes 5 of Andrew’s poems—”So Far South”, “Gleam”, “The Bodhisattva’s Bib”, “A Game of Anything”, and “Bamboo Triptych”.
“The Bodhisattva’s Bib” is a set of 4 haiku, while “Bamboo Triptych” is a suit for 3 tanka. “So Far South”, “Gleam”, and “A Game of Anything” are free form poems. “A Game of Anything” is reproduced below:
A Game of Anything
.
I am watching two little girls
like ducklings totteringin line behind their mother—
only, they are making a gameof the going, taking care
with wing-flappings for balanceto keep in the lanky shadow
she is casting on the asphaltas she trundles her trolly
in the late afternoon sunlightthrough the shopping-centre carpark.
© Andrew Lansdown
Poem in The Mozzie
The March 2021 issue of The Mozzie contains one of Andrew’s poems—a set of three tanka titled “The Worship Tanka”. This poem is reprinted from Andrew’s latest poetry collection, Abundance: New & Selected Poems, published in the United States by Cascade Books.
Four poems in ROCHFORD STREET REVIEW
Rochford Street Review has published four of Andrew’s poem in its latest issue, Issue 31, 2021:1.
The poems are: “Little Things” (a set of 8 haiku); “After the Fishermen” (a set of 2 tanka); “Times of Fox-Dread” (a suite of 4 tanka); and “Petal Poems, Kyoto” (a 3-tanka suite).
The first haiku in “Little Things” is:
A flustering moth
on the lighted windowsill
in a gecko’s mouth.
. .© Andrew Lansdown
The 4 tanka in “Times of Fox-Dread” were written after a visit to Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto. The first tanka in the set is titled “Possession” and reads:
In old Japan
fear of foxes polluted
everyday life:
Oh, is that maid a vixen?
Is that sickness possession?
. .© Andrew Lansdown
You can read the poems in full on the Rochford Street Review website here.
Poem in The Mozzie
The January 2021 issue of The Mozzie contains one of Andrew’s poems—a set (gunsaku) of 4 haiku titled “Japanese Reflections”.
Three poems in Quadrant
Quadrant magazine has published three of Andrew’s poem in its November 2020 issue:
“Windbell”, 3-haiku gunsaku (or, series);
“The Homecoming”, a 2-tanka gunsaku;
and “Canada Geese Near Canada”, a 4-tanka gunsaku.
The first two tanka of “Canada Geese Near Canada” are:
. .1
A spearhead of geese,
fixed on the shaft of instinct,
and hurled by autumn—
how swiftly and straight it flies
south in the threatening skies!. .2
Again, skeins of geese
cross the Wisconsin border,
wearing the sky’s fleece.
And whose heart doesn’t shiver
for want of a warmer winter?© Andrew Lansdown
“Canada Geese Near Canada” is included in Andrew’s latest collection, Abundance: New and Selected Poems, published in December 2020 in the USA by Wipf and Stock Publishers.
Four poems in Quadrant
The April 2020 issue of Quadrant contains 4 of Andrew’s poems: “Loss”, “Apprehension”, “The Lotus Pod Innovations”, and “Unleafed Weeping Cherry”.
“Loss” is a villanelle; “The Lotus Pod Innovations” is a 3-tanka gunsaku; “Unleafed Weeping Cherry” is a 2-tanka gunsaku; and “Apprehension” is written in rhyming couplets.
Apprehension
As we amble in autumn in Nara Park,
where cherries and gingkoes are turning starkand stags scent the heat of hinds on the breeze,
my soul apprehends as my sight perceivesthe heart-shaped leaves of the Chinese tallows,
crimson as blood from the Man of Sorrows.© Andrew Lansdown
“Apprehension” is included in Andrew’s latest collection, Abundance: New and Selected Poems, published in December 2020 in the USA by Wipf and Stock Publishers.
Seven poems in six issues of The Mozzie
Over 2020, Andrew had seven poems published in six issues of The Mozzie.
In Vol. 27, Issue 9, March 2020 – “Saga Chrysanthemums” (a set of 4 tanka).
In Vol. 27, Issue 10, May 2020 – “Kilter” (a set of 3 haiku).
In Vol. 28, Issue 1, June 2020 – “Sandbathing Sparrows” (a set of 2 tanka).
In Vol. 28, Issue 2, July 2020 – “The Martyred Mother”.
In Vol. 28, Issue 3, August 2020 – “Durable Impressions” (a set of 3 haiku).
In Vol. 28, Issue 3, August 2020 – “Leafy Seadragon”.
In Vol. 28, Issue 4, September 2020 – “Little Endings” (a set of 6 haiku).
The poem “Sandbathing Sparrows” (below) is a gunsaku of two tanka that were published individually in Andrew’s book, Kyoto Momiji Tanka: Poems and Photographs of Japan in Autumn. (Go here for information about Kyoto Momiji Tanka.)
Sandbathing Sparrows
By the Kamo River, Kyoto
. .1
Sprawl
The sparrows sprawling
on their sides, kicking their legs,
fluffing their feathers,
are miming the meaning of ‘Nice’
while sandblasting away their lice!. .2
Surrender
Washing their plumage
in a patch of river-rinsed sand,
the sparrows give them-
selves over to feelings of bliss,
as do we, to be watching this.© Andrew Lansdown
Three poems in Studio
Studio magazine published three of Andrew’s poems in issue Number 148, 2020: “Little Endings” (a suite of 6 haiku), “Autumn Maples” (a suite of 2 tanka), and “Separation” (a suite of 2 tanka).
“Little Endings”, a set of 6 light-hearted haiku, will be included in a forthcoming collection of Andrew’s poems. It reads:
Little Endings
. .i
The spider’s mistake—
as it approached it set me
doing the quick-step!. .ii
Worse for the snail—
hearing while night-walking that
unexpected crunch!. .iii
My condolences,
grasshopper, for hopping into
my son’s affections.. .iv
Howzat! The blowfly
scored a triple twenty on
the spider’s dartboard!. .v
A grim irony—
aiming at a spider with
a can of fly-spray.. .vi
Feeling a bit flat—
mosquito meditating
on a clapping sound.© Andrew Lansdown