Poems of Shinkawa Kazue

Abstract:This collection features translations of five poems by Shinkawa Kazue (b. 1929) that span the 1960s through the 2010s. The poems represent Shinkawa's powerful poetic voice, delivered through rhythms built with the succinct and liberating use of ordinary speech. Her poetic world is firmly rooted in reality, but open to the unfathomable depths of dreams, or of another world. Even when she seems openly personal, she leads the reader far beyond the particular experience, into truths about all humanity. This rare quality allows her poetry to transcend the worldly and approach cosmic truth.