The Ink Dark Moon: Buddhist Love/Sex Poetry from Courtly Japan (written by women)

This is a story about some of the most beautiful short poetry I have ever come across. Edited by the poet Jane Hirshfield (see “Given Sugar, Given Salt” elsewhere in this blog), it is a collection of short erotic haiku-like poems written by Ono No Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, who were part of the Japanese medieval court.  The themes – transience, love, loneliness, and erotic longing – are eternal, but the words come across both artful and vividly personal (not to mention steamy) across the centuries.


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Jane Hirshfield discusses “Given Sugar, Given Salt”

In which the California poet (and Buddhist) discusses her poetry with Adam, and reads excerpts from several of her poems with explanations….


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