Of Pen & Ink & Paper Scraps

The first of this new collections three parts ranges very widely, from poems of childhoodhis own, his childrens, and his grandchildsto poems of keen social and political awareness, and on to pieces about his neighbors, about growing more firmly and deeply into a personal place. The collections second part, devoted completely to the poets favorite of all the great haiku poets of Japan, Issa, Issa: A Suite of Haiku, is made up of 72 freshly translated pieces by one of haikus great four (the others being Basho, Buson, and Shiki -- all of whom Lucien Stryk has translated). The collections third part begins with some poems about painting and sculpture, then begins to travel to Italy, England, and Sweden. This volume of poetry is yet another demonstration of what Library Journal declared upon publication of Stryks Collected Poems: 1953-1983: This collection affirms Stryk as one of our best poets working in America today.