When John Francis Cross passed away two weeks ago, on Sept. 10, 2022, after a lengthy battle with cancer, I was heartbroken for a number of reasons. Primarily it was the loss of my friend: a companion with whom to roam enchanted urban rivers; to exchange colorful postcards and handwritten letters, even though we lived […]
Category: Poetry
Luciferina: 4 Minutes of Light vs. Dark
This is the most fun I’ve had in ages — making a short film based on one of my recent poems, “Luciferina”! The poem was motivated by the idea of starlight, and how living in the neon paradise of Tokyo means we can’t always see the stars at night. But then I realized that I […]
Witch Way Podcast Appearance
It was such a delight to chatter about writing and Tarot with Tokyo’s dazzling High Priestess of Magickal Words herself: Ms. Sorcha! She popped my podcast cherry and it was just as fun as I’d always dreamed. The full moon in Cancer, turning local writers into rock stars, writing one poem a month for all […]
January Poetry Challenge 2022
The New Year is almost upon us! I religiously set resolutions every January 1st, and most of them fall to the wayside as the weeks and months go by. I find that my goals are more likely to be achieved if I keep them simmering close to the top of my consciousness and do one […]
Jeffrey Johnson Interview: The Irresistible Pull of Moonlight, Flamenco, & Noam Chomsky’s Brain
Meeting Jeffrey Johnson on the street in Setagaya on a sunny afternoon in October, you’d be forgiven for assuming he’s a moderately normal, well-adjusted man. He sports a neatly trimmed goatee and is dressed in the quietly suave manner befitting a professor of literature at Sophia University: well-fitted jeans, a black T-shirt, spotless white sneakers. […]
Tokyo Poetry Journal Vol. 10: Park Launch!
It was wonderful to see all these beautiful faces in Yoyogi Park on Saturday, proudly hoisting Vol. 10 of a journal that’s near and dear to my heart! Great readings and performances from Jordan A. Smith, Oshima Takeo, Taylor Mignon, Todd Silverstein, Mat Chiappe, Ryan Dzelzkalns, Zoria Petkoska, Simon Scott, Steven Karl, and others. Plus, […]
Full Moon Viewing & Poetry Scribbling
I was so charmed recently to read Junichiro Tanizaki’s description of the “full moon viewing party” in The Makioka Sisters. The entire family, including the maid and a young child, gathered outside in the garden, dressed in full kimono, to admire the beauty of the moon and write poems in her honor. That was Osaka […]