I read “After Ikkyu” by Jim Harrison again last night. Over the last 30 years I must have read this book 30-40 times all the way through (It is short), and then countless other times dipped into it for psychic and spiritual relief. After Ikkyu was another book I stumbled across at a Half-Price books. I had never heard of Jim Harrison, and had never heard of Ikkyu, so that day I pulled After Ikkyu off the shelf was an important date in my poetic literacy. Harrison over the next few months quickly became my favorite poet and novelist. I even read his memoir, and collection of essays written for foodie magazines. The poems in After Ikkyu are modeled after the Japanese poet Ikkyu. They are brief observations about the fleeting nature of life, and our constant inability to see the beauty right in front of us. The poems are imagisticly clean, and delivered with a wry sense of humor. Every time I read them I am stunned by their beauty, craftsmanship, wisdom and wit.
(February 28, 2025)
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