Poem in Kyoto Journal

Kyoto Journal (No. 94) has published Andrew’s poem, “Dragonflies from the Bamboo Forest”.

Kyoto Journal is an award-winning English-language magazine founded in 1987 in Kyoto, Japan. It presents cultural and historical insights from all of Asia, with a major focus on Japan. It is published biannually.

The text of Andrew’s poem is reproduced below:

Dragonflies from the Bamboo Forest

They journeyed from Japan,
the bamboo dragonflies
buoyant by my bookcase.

Members of a squadron
of small fixed-wing flyers,
they zeroed in on me

as I walked with my wife
through an ancient forest
of tall timber bamboos.

And I quickly yielded
to the craftsman for them
my pocketful of yen.

Now they hover weightless
above papers and books,
upheld by just the tips

of their noses touching
the raised sticks of their stands,
the weight of their bodies

and long tails magically
offset by the weight of
their forward-thrusting wings.

They tremble dreamily
in the still air above
the tarmac of my desk,

tempting me to puff them
into storm even as
I marvel at their poise,

reminding me always
of the balance and grace
they own but I must chase.

            © Andrew Lansdown

A slightly altered version of this poem is included in Andrew’s new collection, Distillations of Different Lands (Sunline Press).

New Book – Kyoto Momiji Tanka: Poems & Photos of Japan in Autumn

Rhiza Press has published a new collection of Andrew’s poems and photographs.

Kyoto Momiji Tanka is a stunning collection of poems and photographs celebrating the ancient capital of Japan, Kyoto, during autumn, when the maples (momiji) vividly colour the natural, cultural and emotional terrains of the Japanese.

The poems (written in a traditional Japanese form known as tanka) and photographs introduce readers to a fascinating world of Shinto brides, tanuki, spirit foxes, geisha, shakuhachi players and, of course, autumn maples.

Kyoto Momiji Tanka is a companion volume to Kyoto Sakura Tanka (Rhiza Press, 2016), which celebrates Kyoto in spring during the cherry blossom (sakura) season.

Read sample poems and view sample photographs on the Kyoto Momiji Tanka page on this website here.

Order a copy of Kyoto Momiji Tanka for $24.95 (free postage in Australia) through the Buy Books page on this website.

Two Poems in Quadrant

The March 2019 issue of Quadrant magazine contains two of Andrew’s poems— “Of Maples and …”, a 5-tanka gunsaku, and “Windbells at Fushimi Inari Shrine”, a 4-tanka gunsaku. The first and third “Windbells” tanka are reproduced below:

Windbells at Fushimi Inari Shrine

.        .1

Beckoning

A shop at the shrine
selling big-tailed stone foxes
and toy-sized torii
has a dangle of windbells,
all dinging with the wind’s dint.

.        .3

Sacredness

There is everything
and nothing sacred about
this Shinto windbell
whose fashioned material
sounds out the ethereal.

          © Andrew Lansdown

 

2 Poems in Quadrant

The November 2018 issue of Quadrant magazine contains two of Andrew’s poems—”Windbells with Bamboos” and “Japanese Reflections”.

“Windbells with Bamboos” is a suite of three tanka, while “Japanese Reflections” is a set of four haiku.

Both these poems are included in Andrew’s new poetry collection, Distillations of Different Lands, published by Sunline Press in October.

Read more about Distillations of Different Lands on this website here.

You can buy a copy of the book ($22.95, postage included) through the BUY BOOKS page of this website.

 

 

 

New Poetry Collection – Distillations of Different Lands

Sunline Press has published a new collection of Andrew’s poems titled Distillations of Different Lands.

With a striking cover designed by Western Australian artist Andrew Gilchrist, the book consists of 111 poems occupying 144 pages.

The poems are wide ranging in subject, setting, theme and form, and are arranged into four sections, the four Different Lands of the title: I. HEARTLAND; II. JAPAN; III. HOMELAND; and IV. AMERICA.

Most of the poems have been previously published in magazines, newspapers and anthologies, including in: Asahi (Japan); Australian Book Review; Australian Love Poems 2013 (Inkerman & Blunt Publishers, 2013; rpt 2014); Australian Poetry Anthology: Volume 5, 2016 (Australian Poetry Publications, 2017); Australian Poetry Journal; Axon; The Canberra Times; Falling and Flying: Poems on Ageing (Brandl & Schlesinger, 2015); Famous Reporter; McMaster Journal of Theology & Ministry; Meanjin; Prayers of a Secular World (Inkerman & Blunt Publishers, 2015); Regime; Studio; The Weekend Australian; and Westerly.

Read more about Distillations of Different Lands, along with several sample poems, on this website here.

You can buy a copy of the book ($22.95, postage included) through the BUY BOOKS page of this website.

You can also order Distillations of Different Lands from bookshops and through the publisher’s website, www.sunlinepress.com.au

Poem in Studio

In its latest issue (No. 143, 2018), Studio magazine has published one of Andrew’s – “Bamboo Dragonflies from the Bamboo Forest”. This poem is included in Andrew’s next book of poetry, Distillations of Different Lands, which will be released by Sunline Press later this month, September 2018.

4 Poems in Quadrant

The January-February 2018 issue of Quadrant magazine contains four of Andrew’s poems: “These Astonishments”, “Dog”, “Bamboo Dragonflies from the Bamboo Forest”, “On the Fear of Foxes in Ancient Japan”. “Dog” is a haiku gunsaku, consisting of three haiku, and “On the Fear of Foxes in Ancient Japan” is a tanka gunsaku, consisting of four independent tanka linked together on the basis of a common subject.

 

5 Poems in Quadrant

Five of Andrew’s poems have been published in the April 2018 issue of Quadrant magazine. The poems are: “On the Composition of Haiku”, “Ukiyo-e Kawaii”, “Kyoto Maple Conceits”, “Cane”, “Miscellaneous Thoughts on Poetry”.

“Kyoto Maple Conceits”, a suite of eight tanka, was published late last year in The Crows In Town, the 2007 Newcastle Poetry Prize anthology.

“Miscellaneous Thoughts on Poetry” is another tanka suite (gunsaku), consisting of three tanka, the second of which is:

On Imagist Poetry

Precise imagery,
plausible and original,
is strangely moving:
who can define or dare dismiss
the emotion of exquisite?

© Andrew Lansdown

3 Poems in McMaster Journal of Theology and Ministry

Three of Andrew’s poems were published late last year in the Canadian journal, McMaster Journal of Theology and Ministry, Volume 18 (2016-2017).

The three poems — “The Martyred Mother”, “Sakura Tanka” and “Bravery”—can be read and/or downloaded as a pdf at https://www.mcmaster.ca/mjtm/documents/Volume18/18.MJTM.29-31-Lansdown.pdf

“The Martyred Mother” and “Sakura Tanka” are included in Andrew’s new collection, Distillations of Different Lands, scheduled for publication by Sunline Press in October 2018.