Contemprary Tanka Poet Mariko Kitakubo.
お知らせ
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
Ms. Autumn Noelle Hall,
Thank you so much for picking up my tanka for the Tanka Studio, TSA Ribbons Fall 2022: Vol. 18, Number 3.
Tanka Studio
77 years...
Birkenau, Auschwitz
the days in camp
her trace
covered with snow
Move to "Tanka Society of America"
Friday, December 9, 2022
Eucalypt, an Australian tanka journal, published in its Issue 33, 2022 my tanka poem about my trip to a Northern European country for reading performance.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to Ms. Julie Anne Thorndyke, the editor of Eucalypt.
long flight
to Stockholm
july 2022
avoidance
of Russian airspace
Thursday, December 8, 2022
#FemkuMag published a Tan-Ku set, "Coming of Age", a collaboration with Ms. Deborah P Kolodji.
Coming of Age
angel hair pasta
her baby tooth
beneath a pillow (D)
first kiss
under the olive tree,
garden party
on this mellow
summer solstice (M)
Deborah P Kolodji and Mariko Kitakubo
Monday, November 21, 2022
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On October 26, from 4:00 p.m. PST (October 27, from 8:00 a.m. JST), I participated in the Wednesday Poetry Meeting hosted by Kathabela Wilson and read three pieces of new tanka and haiku sequences that I composed with Ms. Deborah P. Kolodji. Many comments and opinions were raised by the participants, and I think it was a meaningful opportunity for me because I was able to realize once again poetry is a way to inspire each other through our creativity regardless of the language in which the poems are written. Thank you very much. I would like to devote myself even more to creating poems keeping in mind my pride, responsibility, and confidence as a Tanka poet. |
After the meeting, Ms. Kathabela Wilson posted a wonderful message:
Amazing Wednesday meeting Poets on site zoom welcoming, grateful listening to three beautiful sequences "Tan-Ku" (tanka/ Haiku sequences) by Mariko Kitakubo in Tokyo, Japan, and Deborah P Kolodji, Temple City, California, with discussion and questions, heart to heart with Kris Kondo Maxianne Berger, Sigrid Saradunn , Richard Matta, Rita Melisiano. Beautiful performance including Mariko percussion, and inspirations from Rick Wilson on jade Chinese dizi , hummingbirds and squirrels and your Kathabela! We started with a short collaborative session of cherita and gembun collaboratively writing little 4 and 6 line stories in real time on a shared screen by Mariko, Kris, Maxianne, Debbie, Rita, and Kathabela. This meeting began inside our living room gallery, with the last half hour out on our balcony! That's when the hummingbirds and squirrels joined in!
Thursday, October 27, 2022
On September 10, an online poetry journal "Scarlet Dragonfly Journal" published "Beach House." It is a set of English tanka & haiku 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/.../beach-house/
Beach House
the iridescent
splash still there
after your dive...
eternal summer
eternal ocean (M)
the sea pounding
even in my dreams
dolphins (D)
— Mariko Kitakubo, Japan / Deborah P Kolodji, USA
Saturday, September 10, 2022
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On August 6 at 3:00 pm PST (August 7 at 7:00 am JST), Mr. Rick Lupert, a poet, hosted the Hiroshima Day Zoom reading event. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Lupert for selecting me as one of the four performers, including the organizer, for the event. I put my heart and soul into my Japanese-English tanka reading performance to deliver my message beyond the language. Mr. Lupert's poems about his experience in Hiroshima were so moving that I almost shed tears. The songs & guitar performances by Ms. Cantor Aviva Rosenbloom and Mr. Joel Siegel were truly soul-stirring and inspirational. It was a deep and intense time that made me realize once again that there are no national borders in our hearts for peace and prayers to appease the precious souls that took away from us. Thank you all for this precious time. |
Please watch the event video on Facebook.
Hiroshima Day Commemoration and Reading from The Tokyo-Van Nuys Express
Although the video froze for a while in the middle of my performance, the audience commented that they could feel the spirit of the reading from the audio alone. In a sense, it was an unintended experimental effect for me.
Sunday, August 7, 2022
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On July 31, from 6 pm PST (August 1, from 10 am JST), I was invited to the 11th-anniversary reading event of Shabda Press, an American publisher, and performed a Japanese-English tanka reading. I appreciate all the help and support for the publication of INDIGO in 2016. It was my 6th collection of tanka poems and was the first anthology published without self-financing. The participants in the event were all poets who have been deeply involved in the company's publications. Deep, meaningful, and powerful messages in their unique and original poems moved my soul. I am very honored by the offer to publish a new collection in 2023. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Ms. Chúc Mỹ Tuệ, the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Shabda Press. |
Please watch the video of the event!
1:04:00 Ms. Chúc Mỹ Tuệ's introduction about me
1:05:29 Japanese-English tanka reading (from INDIGO)
1:25:27 English haiku & tanka sequence with Ms. Deborah P. Kolodji
Monday, August 1, 2022
July 31st, 18:00 PST (August 1st 10:00 JST), I will participate in Shabda Press 11th Anniversary Reading Event and present a reading.
Tuesday, July 26, 2022
Thank you so much, Ms. Autumn Noelle Hall for using my tanka for "Tanka Studio'' about Ukraine.
Tanka Studio: Ukraine
our smile
in the old frame
where are you?
empty beaches
in Ukraine
Move to "Tanka Society of America"
Saturday, July 23, 2022
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