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Stages and Views, Details and Sample Pages
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Penny Harter
Stages and Views
Katydid Books, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1994.
Reflections Series, edited by Thomas Fitzsimmons
Illustrations by Karen Hargreaves-Fitzsimmons
Preface by Makoto Ueda
6 x 9", 126 pages, perfect bound, $15.
ISBN 0-924668-42-1
"Stages and Views
is a book of linkage between American and Japanese culture, between the
premodern and the modern age, and between pictorial and verbal art. In
the end, the 'stages' in this book point toward stages of the universal
human journey, and the 'views', toward views of the universal human
condition." ~ Makoto Ueda, from the Preface
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"There is a painterly quality in the way that colors are so
precisely named—'cobalt,' 'turquoise' and 'indigo' are lifted from a
palette, and not merely shades of blue. The topographical sequence is
beautifully evoked. Harter is a close and sensitive observer. Her
approach is level-headed and her gaze is steady. Carefully and
delicately, Harter has made the images her own. This is a very fine
collection." ~ David Burleigh, reviewing in The Japan Times
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20—Penny Harter
6. TOTSUKA
A long day's journey ending,
the horseman dismounts.
Rice for sale—his foot caught
in the stirrup, he teeters
toward the woman of the shop.
Thatched roofs turn
a deeper cinnamon.
The river rests more luminous than sky.
Light lingers on the rice racks,
the far hills.
Dusk gathers in the folds
of a cobalt kimono.
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Views—93
21. IN THE WAVE OFF KANAGAWA
("THE GREAT WAVE")
A mountain of water erupts from the sea,
thrusts white tentacles toward the sky,
engulfs the small boat angled in its foothills,
spews flecks of foam, blanched as the faces
of the frightened sailors.
Among the swells
Fuji is just another wave,
cresting on inky depths.
the cat's eyes glitter
as the lizard plays dead
in its mouth
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"These poems with their haiku-like stanzas and the haiku themselves are inspired creations." ~ Robert Spiess, reviewing in Modern Haiku
"Lyrical and imagistic . . . tough, poignant, precise." ~ Miriam Sagan
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"Stages and Views is superb, both in its concept and execution. What a delightful imaginary trip it is!" ~ Soichi Furuta
"An exquisite book that I'm enjoying and expect to keep enjoying for a long time." ~ X. J. Kennedy
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Views from the Mountain—123
the dragon kite
escapes from the child—
smoke on the mountain
in the dim temple
the eternal flame—
Buddha's polished cheeks
fresh scallions
on the steamed trout—carefully
she lifts out the bones
evening rain—
in the froth of the waterfall
pale petals
* * *
without looking
the butcher cleaves the shoulder
between the bones
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| This page first posted 23 September 2003 and
last updated 30 April 2008. Copyright © 1994, 2003-2008 Penny Harter. All
rights reserved. No material from this web site may be copied on other
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