Contemprary Tanka Poet Mariko Kitakubo.
お知らせ
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On April 13th evening, Ms. Kathabela Wilson invited Ms. Deborah P Kolodji and me to her residence and we performed the first Tan-Ku reading. It was very important and meaningful for me as the preparation for Descanso Gardens Shiki Museum event on the following day, and the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park, San Diego on April 16th. |
Friday, April 14, 2023
"Right Hand Pointing" in its issue 151 posted 4 Tan-Ku sets which Ms. Deborah P Kolodji and I created together.
Motherless
a lavender
bubble bath makes me
remember
the shades of
mum’s yukata (M)
combing out my hair
I close my eyes
and see her face (D)
Footsteps
autumn forest
deepens and deepens
in color
who knows
when I will disappear (M)
chilled by the wind
each step closer
to winter (D)
Mariko Kitakubo and Deborah P Kolodji
Sirius Rising
dog days
my maltipoo and I
stay inside and sleep (D)
the joy
of getting lost . . .
am I in
the sky or ocean?
lapis lazuli (M)
9th Inning
losing streak
the crack as his bat
hits a foul ball (D)
every motion
stops and restarts
slowly . . .
we catch our breath
Gyakuten Sayonara!! (M)
Deborah P Kolodji and Mariko Kitakubo
Thursday, April 13, 2023
TSA Ribbons Winter 2023: Vol 19, Number 1, published my works in its sections - Selected Tanka and Tanka Hangout (Theme: Music).
Thank you very much for choosing my works from among many members' works.
Selected Tanka
thinking about
death with dignity...
this night
the dark door
opens to me
Tanka Hangout: Music
silence
of despair
after
this movement
of Valkyrie
Move to "Tanka Society of America"
Friday, March 31, 2023
I am very honored to announce that the cultural & art event on April 14th at Descanso Gardens included a poetry reading presentation by Ms. Deborah P Kolodji and me in its program.
We will present a reading of some poems from our new book, "DISTANCE," for a commemoration of its publication.
Ms. Deborah P Kolodji and I co-authored "DISTANCE" (my seventh book), which will be published by Shabda Press on April 8th (US time).
I am deeply honored and grateful.
I will perform to the best of my ability.
Cultivate: Explore SHIKI
.
SHIKI exhibit tours with curator Meher McArthur
– Lecture/tour of Sturt Haaga Gallery
– Times: 5–5:45pm | 6–6:45pm
Haiku and tanka poetry reading and performance by Debbie Kolodji and Mariko Kitakubo
– Poetry readings of Kolodji and Kitakubo’s book
– Times: 5–5:30pm | 6–6:30pm
Please refer to the Descanso Gardens web page for the details.
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
On February 21, PST, (2023.2.22, JST), The Tan-Ku Set, "Resolve" by us (Deborah P Kolodji and me) appeared!
Thank you so much, the Scarlet Dragonfly editor, Kathleen Trocmet.
https://scarletdragonflyjournal.wordpress.com/2023/02/21/resolve/
Resolve
the purpose
of my life has changed
again . . .
focus on the lady
in the full-length mirror (M)
morning sun comes
through the window
I stand taller (D)
— Mariko Kitakubo, Japan / Deborah P Kolodji, USA
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
Red Lights Vol.19 No.1 posted my English tanka.
My sincere thanks to the editor, Ms. Marilyn Hazelton. Thank you very much.
Sweden
in a pure white
and deep blue sky
I doze in the air
of the arctic route
where am I?
forgetting
the stress of jet lag
in front of
an audience of 100 I give
my reading performance
Monday, February 20, 2023
Shot Glass Journal, an internet magazine, posted 3 Tank sets.
* Click the images below to view the pages in Shot Glass Journal.
About Tan-Ku
Tan-ku is a collaborative form we developed where one poet writes a tanka and the other poet answers with a haiku, or vice versa.
Beach in Malaysia
by Deborah P Kolodji and Mariko Kitakubo
grey skies
the blues inside
me (D)
running
through rainforest
to the cove
accompanied by lightning
and a rainbow (M)
Forecast
by Deborah P Kolodji and Mariko Kitakubo
early twilight
the angry voices
next door (D)
darkness is hiding
under children's brims
tomorrow
will be a sunny day. . .
after the war (M)
Wings
by Deborah P Kolodji and Mariko Kitakubo
milkweed in bloom
a caterpillar hidden
under a leaf (D)
who can
recognize me
the joy
or loss—
metamorphosis (M)
Monday, February 6, 2023
Shabda Press will publish a book titled "Distance" in April 2023, which is a completely new type of poetry, "Tan-Ku*," which I co-created with my close friend Ms. Deborah P. Kolodji, a well-known English haiku poet.
* "Tan-ku" is a collaborative form Deborah P Kolodji and I developed where one poet writes a tanka and the other poet answers with a haiku, or vice versa. "Tan-Ku Sequence" is composed of two or more haiku and tanka works, whereas "Tan-Ku Set" is composed of single work of haiku and tanka. Both of them are completed with its title.
You can reserve your order from the official website of SHABDA PRESS, Inc.
Thursday, February 2, 2023
On December 25 PST, (2022.12.26, JST), an online poetry journal "Scarlet Dragonfly Journal" published "The Color Red."
It is a set of English tanka & haiku (Tan-Ku) I created together with Ms. Debora P. Kolodji, my best friend haiku poet.
My sincere thanks to the editor, Ms. Kathleen Trocmet.
https://scarletdragonflyjournal.wordpress.com/2022/12/25/the-color-red/
The Color Red
a fir tree
in the maple forest
forever
green . . .
melancholy (M)
dressing up drab clothes
with Christmas bling
I feel like singing (D)
— Mariko Kitakubo, Japan / Deborah P Kolodji, USA
Monday, December 26, 2022
Tan-Ku Sequence, The Queen Mary, a collaboration with Ms. Deborah P. Kolodji, will be published on page 40 of California Quarterly Vol. 48 No. 4 Winter 2022.
My sincere thanks to her, the editor of this poetry magazine, and my good friend with whom I have worked together to create Tan-Ku.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the California State Poetry Society for the courtesy of sending me a copy by airmail, even though I am not a member of the society.
Thank you very much.
THE QUEEN MARY
seagulls
a little girl watches
the ship sail in (D)
father's hand
was big and warm
before
my story begins
scent of the beach (M)
live band on board
dancing cheek to cheek
at the high school prom (D)
toasting
the fruit punch
our poetry
is still in the wind
string quartet (M)
horn blast
a hundred fifty poets
on deck (D)
That
antique smell...
I meet
an elegant ghost
at the end of the corridor (M)
Deborah P Kolodji
Temple City, California
Mariko Kitakubo
Tokyo, Japan
Thursday, December 15, 2022
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