Bare life
During the period of the spring German rains
My son and I are making a globe of cardboard boxes
Today we have made a big one
We wrapped it with collage paper
And placed it in the middle of the studio apartment where we have lived
Mum, where is Dad, he asked
Before I glued the last
Cut colours of the Balkan.
The vignette
Dismembered atoms of my good husband
Will never have a chance to be the perfect father.
Unlike me
And my atoms which even dismembered don't abandon this skin.
In our studio apartment there is no single picture of a prevoius life
We only found pictures of grey autumn mountains in this residence
My son and I are like the walking vignettes among them
That boy Alfonse, is playing Nintendo with his father
We can hear them talking loudly and laughing
But, we comprehend only that they are laughing
Mum, why are those people laughing so loudly?
They are out of silence.
What if we borrow them?
The white clouds
I wake up with the scent of the women
Who abandoned their homes
On the thresholds they left the traces of their blood
All clothes from their children, memories on their first cry
While the sounds of the Muslim's call to prayer and church bells echoed in the background
My body is filled with memories
While the children's heads are being lost in the high grass
Of the uncut graves
This is the place where my brother fell for the first time
This is the place where my father's soul moved to the better place
At one time this was her house, says my husband while staring
At the debris I am drawing on a sheet of paper in the refugee camp
Draw the white clouds where your memories live
Says the life teacher
Emina Đelilović-Kevrić (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina) After studying the b/h/s (bosnian/croatian/serbian) language and literature at the Philoshopical Faculty in Zenica she got her master's degree on the subject „Memory construction in the South Slavic interlinear community: typical models of the war camp experience in literature“. She is the author of the poetry collection „ This time without history“ and the short stories collection „ Erased lives“. Her collection of poems „ My son and I“ is awarded by the Publishing Foundation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2021. In 2022 she won the second place in the international literature competition „ Isnam Taljić“. She is the winner of the second award for the best short story of the regional literature competition "Zija Dizdarević“ 2022, and she won the first place on international literature competition „Nastavi priču“. 2023. she won a third place on international poetry competition „Ossi di Seppia“ Italy.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
naked and smiling at me
back are the days
of sitting in waiting
rooms and dreaming
of the hot blonde
receptionist being
naked and smiling
at me
this is the normal
of a few years ago
hopefully, the poems
won't be far behind
--------------------------------------------------
old traditions should be let go
the fucking groundhog
said there would be
six more weeks of
winter
less than two weeks
later and it will be
seventy degrees
tomorrow
i think there always
comes a time when
old traditions should
be let go
i'd much rather lean
on science than shadows
and people dressed like
it is still the 1800's
---------------------------------------------------
fish tank
staring at a fish tank
in the waiting room
of a dentist office
it nearly takes up
the entire wall
i guess a portion of
what my mother will
be paying today will
go to food for the fish
or maybe one of those
plastic castles from
some pirate adventure
------------------------------------------------------
safe to assume
heard from
an old lover
last night
she responded
to a message
i sent her
a year ago
i guess it is
safe to assume
she isn't missing
me that much
at all
of course,
i responded
immediately
-----------------------------------------------------
new enemies
old friends often
becomes new enemies
in this crazy world
lack of communication
or greed or just good ole
time can do such things
i quit trying to hold on
years ago now
i never was any good at
making friends
and that certainly hasn't
got much better with age
so fuck it
live and let live
we all end up in
the same place
J.J. Campbell (1976 – ?) is old enough to know where all the bodies are buried. He’s been widely published over the years, most recently at Horror Sleaze Trash, The Beatnik Cowboy, The Rye Whiskey Review, Yellow Mama and Terror House Magazine. You can find him most days on his mildly entertaining blog, evil delights. (https://evildelights.blogspot.com)
Human Life
Human life is epic,
Every event that happens in life is a reservoir of poetry.
Life is like a single candle,
You never know when it will go out.
One day you have to leave like the selfish.
Some parts are jerking in earthquake Some hearts are trembling in fire and fighting The queue of death getting larger We, the commoners affected too much The souls cry in desert The unstopped rain pouring on the soil in red Only a touch of love can dispel The dried, pathetic or hectic sight of face Where is the bird of peace? Oh bird, come so fast flapping on the eyes And make us all joy.
Chapainawabganj, Bangladesh 27/02//2023
The Relics
The kite of love flying in the sky Rotating from time to time on and on You and I come out and visit the scene Once they made The World of Love – still alive Hundreds and thousands of men, women or children Watch the relics and remember the shrine adding the wedding room Built in 600-700 century called Gokul Medh at Bogura Zilla The relics is open to all brightening the archaeological value The tune of love suddenly focuses The Basor Ghor ( The Wedding Room) of Behula – Lakhindor The image you can draw at your own frontier.
Born in Catanzaro(1962-Italy) where he lives and works…Claudio Parentela is an illustrator,painter,digital painter,photographer,mail artist,cartoonist,collagist,textile artist,journalist free lance…Active since many years in the international contemporary art scene.He has collaborated &he collaborates with many,many zines,magazines of contemporary art,literary and of comics in Italy and in the world…& on the paper and on the web…some name amongst the many:NYArtsMagazine,Turntable & Blue Light Magazine,
Lartmagazine,You&Me,Rorschach,Fagorgo,B.G.A.Comix,Tracce,Prospektiva,Balkan Spirit,Liberazione.net,Don Juan Online,Emozioni, Digitalabstract,Fatece Largo,Petrolio,Out Zine,Pssst Zine,Bolle Di Cartone,All About Fucking,Gibbering Madness,Rotkop,Anima Mal Nata,ZZZzine,Labour Of Love,Bianco D’Uovo,Bries,Ratriot,Kami Zine,Pus!,Bathtub Gin,Experimental Forest,Stardust Memories,Sunburn,Funtime Comics,Spaghetti,Plop,Topaz&Psichedelica,Joey and The Black Boots,Blind Man’s Rainbow,The White Buffalo Gazzette,Lore,Lunatic,Chamelon,Rigodor,Axolotl,Luca Bonanno Editore,Succo Acido,Pitchfork,Chainsmoker,Surface,Crimson Feet,Skyline,Re:Magazine,Oyster Boy Review,Anthology,Xero Magazine,Slic,Lit Pot Press, warmtoast cafe,Gumball Poetry,Mineshaft,Milk&Wodka,Yahoo Zine,Stardust
Memories,CartaIgienica,Faestethic,Field Report,Out Of The Blue,Comfusion Magazine,Careful,Ellin Selae,Multistorey,Disegni Di Sogni,Omnibus,The Sound Projector,Gooch Magazine,Laugh Clown Laugh,Shift, Castlemagazine- WAMtv,Vial,Frior,Debilana,Cool Strip Anthology,Territory,Panik, weblog.bezembinder.nl,Celulit,Pimba,OtomanoProper Gander,Container,Mammamiaquantosangue,Cikuta,Traspiratore,Gambuzine,Empty Life,Erroneo,Kalte Tage,Planeta Underground,Cabezabajo,
Poetexpress,Nexus,Criade,Love Eternal Lost Infernal,Algiza,Raven,A.K.O.M.,Mutate & Survive,Angelflesh Press,Skirocore,Sirota Jerica,Zone Optimiste De Bande Dessinèe,Breakfast All Day,The Brown Bottle,Crystal Drum,The Brobdingnan Time,Edgar,Il Foglio Clandestino,Microbe,New York Press,Something Else,O!!Zone,Vitriol,The Flashing Astonisher,Devil Blossoms,Contagio,The Dream Zone,Sinus,Yops Zine,Versus Press, lamoira. –ultrazine-graphola-tribenet-linarte-homme-moderne-furtherfield-globevisions-artbabyart- UpScene Magazine -zanzibart-braintwisting-arte.go-designradar-sitart-sciacalloelettronico-artfaq- Caveat Lector-lazaruscorporation-ionone-lospaziobianco-youandiproductions-artrenegades-artbureau-cimaisevirtuelle-americanspiritstudios-Choler Magazine-graphiland-artpoetryfiction-catalyzerjourna-ambulant-surfaceonline-lambiek-thebluesmokeband—equilibriarte-gumballpoetry-cafeshops-subtletea-vu gallery-silverfish-zeroboutique-mondocolorado-succoacido-artzar-unlikelystories-discord-aggregate-latchkey.net-bewilderingstories-artbarge-yokeandzoom-bhag.net-chaosgeneration-artgalerie34-lobstupidfish-netcells.net-thundersandwich-sensuoussadie-thepedestalmagazine- BecomingJournal- No More Flowers –
Space Junkies Magazine-lucidmoonpoetry-ubq-plumrubyreview-komikaze-tattoohighway-Burrow Magazine-Swoon Magazine-artistswithoutfrontiers- WAMTV-…El Eros Incesante -thedigitalartist-doubledarepress-theaxis-cloudking-monkeyview- Y SIN EMBARGO magazine –Dirt Cheap Magazine- Degrees of Separation- WeirdArt-drunkenboat-erreur404-bigbridge-monkeyview-opensewer-oysterboyreview-labisagra-Entero’ziNe-arti(e)rumori –botulinux-tenaviv-eternarte-fameweb-erbadellastrega-muse-apprentice-guild-dimensionearte-socialdesignzine-indiejournal- thanalonline-Rorschach-roxybar-genomart-spreadhead-duepunti- AnythingILike- LIFE DURING WARTIME- surreal collages-
-stategrezzi-agliincrocideiventi-stradanove-Tiscali Arte-hybridstudios-arthal-socialdesignzine-boxart-.eroxe-edizioniriccardi-art.e-zine-erroneo-SOGNOdiSEGNI 2002-clubghost-musicheart-linguaggioglobale- dwarfcadaver -actarus-xseven-whipart-girodivite-ideerandage-gordo.it-erbadellastrega-skorieindustriali-wema-Entero’ziNe-robotswillkill-omnisat-lucidmoonpoetry-H+Art-komikaze-hoardmag-phueydesign-Culture1.com-tattoohighway-arteutile-herecomethewilddogs-RetortMagazine- subculture-lovepain.com-showcomplex-lobstupidfish-wormwoodchronicles-ArtRemains-gallerythe-prettythings- artsingulier–dustydomino-halfempty- americanartists-cartaigienica-escualotis-artactif-webdesignersexperiments-outsiderink-pseudolo-samsara-strangedude-globevisions-lospaziobianco-yokeandzoom-cafeblu-casaditolleranza-equilibriarte-stickyourneckout- artrevolt project- Hugo Strikes Back!-botulinux-literarypotpourri-locomediadub-halfempty-Choler Magazine-Mistery Island Magazine-inkpots-
artisticdevil-lamette-studiocleo-lovepain-tribenet-inguine.net-Hermatena-prosetoad-stickyourneckout-pickwick-samsara-artfaq-rorschachonline-arte.go-jamcafe magazine-locomediadub-Animals in Mailart –roxybar-Arts Ablaze Gallery –Filosofem-enfusemagazine-sensuallogic-phirebrush-millenniumartgallery-dork magazine-galleryculture-Escáner Cultural-digitalconsciousness-Arts Ablaze Gallery –mousikelab-fameweb-socialdesignzine-theshowingplace- warmtoast cafe-gumballpoetry-invisibleinsurrection-hybridstudios-digizine-charnwood-arts-surface-wiredheart-poemus-artrenegades-mindcaviar-succoacido-gallerythe-Vulcanoidi- The Lamp-Araba Fenice -net-art-artetop-guzzardi.it-mentalcontagion-furtherfield-catalyzerjournal-Cristian S. Aluas CSA Books-Lummox Press/Journal-lovechess-americanspiritstudios-Mashnote Magazine …- ANIMAL magazine- Wicked -TheArtSource- Not The Tate, gallery- nonzi-escmagazine-graphiczone-
theamericanskin-undergroundxchange-Silent Presence Gallery-publiceyesore-locusmag-Unwound-cartaigienica-Buiten Westen -armando adolgiso.it-artdish-the-vu-BATHTUB GIN -JHON magazine-bonobo-galleryculture-linguaggioglobale-progettobabele-subsystence-samsaraquarterly-traspi.net-arteecarte-galerieserrano-vicodelferro-woesteweduwe-dimensionearte-braintwisting-topolin-prospektiva-placesofart-falsestart-GLUBIBULGA’ -arti(e)rumori –cafepress-annotazioni-electronic-art-edizioniriccardi-ilbolerodiravel-subculture-arthal-sitart-citizen32-paroladidonna-lilacedius-essendemme-inguine.net- DarkArtists-tangents-cimaisevirtuelle-riflessioni-jackmagazine-Exquisite Corpse -obscurity . webzine -UBQ | Leave Your Fingerprint-Rivista Anarchica Online-bedfordnovel-poemus-Tiscali – Arte-wormsarts-atopiaonline-dorkmag-digizine-pigmag-outsiderink-ROJO®magazine –doubledarepress-
smallspiralnotebook- Transmission Magazine-sidewalkpoetry-vialmagazine-peaceseed-monophobic-thepoisonedapple-two-zero-Exquisite Corpse –kenagain-HEAD magazine-zerooneart-virtuallyinfamous-BATHTUB GIN – Illustrationmundo,Gambuzine-tenthousandmonkeys-CHANCE MAGAZINE-channel83.gallery-soupskin.- spreadhead- thelemming-prettythings-funhousemagazine-gallery-21-leportillon-raggededgepress-Bonobo galerie –hexvalue-netcells-retortmag-crystaldrum-locomedia-cafepress-Tokyo Cow-kufia-Crack! Fumetti dirompenti -Corps Possibles – Identités Possibles-retortmag-artrecess-johnmagazine-Tiscali – Arte-Roxy Web – Arte-biographic.ubq-deliriohouse-indiejournal-Outsider Ink-latchkey-poopsheet-lamoira-tribenet-linarte-homme-moderne-globevisions-artbabyart-zanzibart-arte.go-sitart-sciacalloelettronico-pseudolo-illu-station-botulinux-lazaruscorporation-lospaziobianco-Federico Feroldi Arte Contemporanea-rockheals-cimaisevirtuelle-americanspiritstudios-Choler Magazine-The House of Tate-artpoetryfiction-otro.it-Outsider Ink-Cimaise Virtuelle -GQ-La Tora Web-Mutate&Survive-Doodlers Anonymous-latchkey.net-Mashnote Magazine –Anteism-vorticeargentina-spreadhead-indiejournal-3rdthought-edificewrecked-galerieserrano-sugardrum-curiousculture-wrath.de-Magpie Magazine-Lazer ArtZine-DoDmag-Dark Sky Magazine,Paraphilia Magazine,New Chemical History,Cut-click Magazine,Dirt Cheap Magazine,GOB Magazine, Inprint-Mag,… …etc…etc…and the list could continue again a long time…
During the 1999 he was guest of the BREAK 21 FESTIVAL in Ljubliana(Slovenja)… …His obscure&crazy artworks are present &shown in many,many art galleries in the endless web&in the real world too…and then again at ’’GIRASOLE’’(Villa Basilica),at ’’TABULA RASA’’(Barcellona),at Vahagnartgallery ,at ‘’GALERIE SLAPHANGER’’(Amsterdam),at ‘’La Casa Di Tolleranza’’(Milan),at’’La Cueva-No Art Gallery’’(Milan),at Spazio Aurora(Milan),at Forte Prenestino(Rome),at Andenken Gallery(USA),at’’ HOEPLI INTERNATIONAL BOOKSTORE EXHIBITION SPACE’’(Milan), at Skorie Industriali(Rome),at theMUKY(Faenza), in Turin with the Association’’Mind The Gap’’,at The ‘’Pina Gallery’’(Koper),al ‘’Diesel Gallery’’(NY),at the ‘’METAVERSO’’(Rome),at the”Virtual Shoe Museum”,,at ‘’Little Cakes Gallery’’(NY),at the’’Interzona’’(Verona), at ’’Trainside Gallery’’(Haverhill,USA),at ‘’Blah Blah Gallery’’(U.S.A.),at ’’Scaremongering Gallery’’(USA),at ‘’Sage Club’’ (Berlin),at ‘’Panda Club’’ (Pistoia),at Creativa2006(Rignano sull’Arno-FI-Italy)),CAM_Casoria
Contemporary Art Museum(Casoria,NA,Italy),at ‘’Cultural Association EKIDNA(Carpi-MO-Italy)- at Glowinski’s’ Library(Olesnica-PL), ‘’Da Marisa Gallery’’XM 24(Bo-Italy),’’ Blog on Arthur Rimbaud’’ 2 shows at the Castello di Rivara, near Torino ,and at the the San Carpoforo church, place of the Accademia d’Arte di Brera in Milano, at ‘’Tenax’’ (Firenze),at ‘’Teatro Studio’’ di Scandicci (Firenze),at the Libreria Segnalibro of Ferrara(with the show’’Tarocchi Evoluti’’organized by the Associazione Hermatena),at ‘’Ambasciata di Marte (Florence)’’,at ‘’Klyk’’ (Firenze), at ‘’The Wurst Gallery’’(Portland-U.S.A.)- at Red Labels(Toronto-Canada), at Centre for Graphic Arts HogeDRUKgebied(Rotterdam-NL), at Galerija DLUM(Maribor-SI), at ’’Achab’’(Catania) and at all the other sicilian stops of the show’’SognoDiSegni’’,at Artitude Gallery(Paris),at ‘’Zo Cafè’’(Bologna),at the show” the show”CHILDREN NO MORE”(Bari-Italy),”at the Barcode(San Benedetto del Tronto-Italy),at Circolo Culturale Bertold Brecht(Milano-Italy), NO.HUMAN.NO.CRY(Monza-IT), at Atkinson Art Gallery ( Southport UK),at’’ DYNAMO’’ (Milano-Italy),at the show’’Arredi Digitali’’in San Benedetto Del Tronto and at the shows that GRAPHOLA has organized and continues to organize…at’’Leave Your Fingerprints’’ organized by the friend Mimmo
Manes&UBQ,at ‘’ Fira Magica de Santa Susanna’’(Spain),at”GUAPOPO Gallery”(Spain),at’’Sechiisland’s Micro Gallery’’(Brasil),at ‘’Museum of Porn in Art’’(Zurich),Cranky Yellow(Saint Louis, MO-US),at”Hoody Art Gallery”(London-UK),at’’Black Maria Gallery(LA-USA),at’’Third Drawer Dawn(Australia),at”Green Art Fair Miami 08″,at 3rdthought, at ”Umber Studios”(Minneapolis-USA),,at”Zoccoletti e Zoccolette”(BIOKIP GALLERY @ Pervinca OpenSpace-Milan-It),at ”The Woom Gallery”(Birmingham-UK)-SPAZIO ARKA(Assemini centro (CA)),”SUBject Festival”(Bologna-It),CeC 2009 Uttarakland (India),at ”I MALEDETTI DEL ROCK ITALIANO”(Palazzo del Podestà,Città di Castello-IT),”Human Emotion Project”(Brancaleone,Rome It),”Ocho Delicate Nature”(Milan-It),”Ocho global group exhibition & book”(Barcelona-Spain),at the ”Mezzanine”collective show curated by Chillin’s Productions(San Francisco-U.S.A.),”®out 3ª Mostra Internacional d’Art Urbà Publicitari”(Barcelona-Spain),”Inspiration Art Exhibition 3”(Tel Aviv-Israel),at”Phobia”collective show at the”Gallery’101′(Kaunas-Lithuania),at the”#2AdunanzAutogestitArtisti”(CasalBertone -Rome-IT),at the Italian Institute of Culture(London-UK)…and again..and again to other …He does a lot of mail art and he partecipates to all the mail art projects he knows…
…He has collaborated and he collaborates with many bands of industrial music,noise,experimental&electronic,harsh&death&metal gore…punx…….He has illustrated poems and stories&music of Gavin Burrows,Harry Wilkens,Vittorio Baccelli,Claudio Morici, Alberto Rizzi,Cristiano Quadalti,Shannon Colebank,Gary Sneyd,Robert Smith,Michael Kriesel,Mark Sonnenfeld,Nathan Medema,Richard D.Houff,…drawn together for&with Maurizio Bianchi M.B,Elvi Athan,Marcel Herms,Kapreles……for various publishers he has realized some booklets of illustrations and comics:’’Il Ratto Bavoso’’,and’’L’Incubo Dimezzato’’(Innovation Studio-B.G.A.Comix-Italy);’’Fashion Robot’’(David Lasky-Seattle-USA),’’L’Agnello Sacrificale e la Salamandra Impiccata al Patè 666’’(Medicina Nucleare-Italy);’’Storie’’(Progetto Siderurgiko-Italy),’’Eudemoni’’and’’Piccola Trilogia Nera’’(Poems of Alberto Rizzi and of Cristiano Quadalti with Claudio Parentela’s illustrations -Criatu Prod.-Italy);’’Jeanne Dark You Got Balls’’ and’’The Frogs’ Ballet’’(Self-produced);’’Black Kisses and Other Stories’’,and ‘’The Book Of Secrets’’(La Cafetiere Editions-Belgium);
’’Endless Tongue’’(texts of Richard D.Houff and Claudio Parentela’s illustrations -The Benway Institute-USA),’’Else Beds’’(Claudio Parentela’s illustrations and poems of Nathan Medema-JesusBunny Press-Canada);’’The Savage Soldier’’(Luca Menichini Prod.-Italy);’’Derrumbe’’( Valter Casini Ed.-Italy),’’Matter Ballet’’(Claudio Parentela’s illustrations and poems of Michael Kriesel-BoneWorld Publishing-USA),’’Social Reform’’(poems of Shannon Colebank and Claudio Parentela’s illustrations-Whizzbanger Prod.-USA);’’Le Miopi Della Montagna’’(Underground-Press-Italy).”The Weak Cuckoo”(Gran Negro Publisher-Spain).…He has drawn 2 tarots for’’Tarocchi Evoluti’’(published by Associazione Hermatena-Italy)…and always Hermatena Publishers has published my last and new tarots’ decks”I Tarocchi dell’Iride” and’’I tarocchi Dell’Archetipo Blu’’…and on the web he is present on many pages and in many places again…
For contacts:
CLAUDIO PARENTELA
VIA F.CRISPI N.79 88100 CATANZARO-ITALY Tel.Num&FAX.:+39 0961744087-Cell:3713423289
morning mists a dream in paint of people passing –Buson
For more than a thousand years, poetry has been an essential element of Japanese cultural life. Waka, the 31-syllable ancestor of haiku, was written and collected in imperial anthologies for centuries. In the early 1600s, a small group of potters, painters and calligraphers emerged in Kyoto, then the capital of Japan. Members of the group synthesized their multiple talents and used the well-known poems to decorate wall-hangings and handscrolls.
In time, the circle became known as the Rinpa School, named after the later adherent Ogata Korin (Rin + pa ‘school’). Korin (1658–1716) is one of the acknowledged giants of Japanese art. Among his major paintings are a six-fold screen of the waves of Matsushima and the paired, twofold screen God of Wind and God of Thunder.
Korin, God of Wind and God of Thunder
Early 18th century, 421.6 cm x 464.8 cm
His masterpiece, the paired, twofold screen Red and White Plum Blossoms, is a designated National Treasure.
Korin, Red and White Plum Blossoms
Early 18th century, 156 cm x 172.2 cm each
Rinpa is still regarded today as one of the major movements in the long history of Japanese art. In the following examples by two of the founders of the school, the calligraphy skills of the potter and tea ceremony student Hon’ami Koetsu (1558 – 1637) are displayed with underpaintings by Tawaraya Sotatsu (c. 1570 – c. 1640) to produce striking imagery in ink, silver and gold:
Early 17th century, 18.3 cm x 16.3 cm
The autumn moon shines brightly upon the mountain illuminating every fallen colored leaf –Anonymous
Early 17th century, 19.7 cm x 17.1 cm
At the break of dawn a skiff rides the rapids of the river, as the boatman’s sleeves drift in the autumn mist –Koga Michiteru
Emphasizing the autumnal subject of the poem, the underpainting in this piece depicts chrysanthemums and mist in gold flakes and gold dust
Early 17th century, 18.3 cm x 16.3 cm
In the harbor where the waters converge, the waves are deep red as the floating autumn leaves swirl and eddy –Sosei
Early 17th century, 32.8 cm x 40 cm
I do not know if you will always be true. This morning after you left, I recalled your vows to me looking at my long black hair so disheveled— like the tangles in my heart. — Taikenmon-in no Horikawa
Named among both the Thirty-Six Women Poetic Geniuses and the Thirty-Six Poetic Geniuses of the Late Classical Period, Taikenmon-in no Horikawa was a palace lady-in-waiting to Empress Taiken and a consort of Emperor Toba. Sixty-six of her poems are included in imperial waka anthologies.
Paired woodblock print of the poetess by Nishikawa Sukenobu
1731, 21 cm x 32.4 cm
Following the path of Koetsu and Sotatsu, Ogata Kenzan (1663—1743) introduced literary art to ceramics.
Kenzan, said Richard Wilson, a professor of Japanese art “was no ordinary potter. The scion of a highly cultured Kyoto family, he spent his early adulthood pursuing Zen and studying Chinese poetry and calligraphy. When he finally took up ceramics at age thirty-seven, it wasn’t to display manual skill but rather to translate the world known to him into ceramic design.” The work was revolutionary in concept and execution.
Kenzan, Clay Tray
ca. 1720, 22.5 cm x 24.8 cm “Desolate sprays, unyielding, defy the frost“
Kenzan’s unconventional work and willingness to challenge rivals in the marketplace won him great commercial success for much of his life. Notes to a recent exhibit provide a flavor to his work: His most powerful weapons in that fierce competition were his fresh new designs, based on concepts created by his older brother, Korin. Mukozuke dishes with designs bordering their rims or wide-mouthed bowls that capture the moment when a stream is racing along, transcending the boundary between the interior and exterior: even today, his ideas, cutting across between the three-dimensional and the flat, seem new and full of playful inspiration.
Two plates from a series comprising a ceramic calendar demonstrate Kenzan’s technique and poetic sensibilities. A scene representing the month was painted on the face of the plates. Two poems by Fujiwara Teika are glazed on the bottom of the plates, one for the flower associated with the month, and one for the bird associated with it. While Kenzan reaches for “three perfections” of painting, poetry and calligraphy in this mode, the items were meant for functional use. “The users,” said Wilson, “presumably enjoyed identifying the texts and images and trading their knowledge with companions.”
Kisaragi The Second Lunar Month Early 18th century, 20.32 cm x 17.98 cm
Cherry Blossom
The February sky of cherry blossoms, Fragrant reflections On the sleeves of passers-by; Sprigs in their hair.
Pheasant
A spring time hunter, His trail in the mist. The cry of a pheasant Calling his mate.
Shimotsuki The Eleventh Lunar Month Early 18th century, 20.32 cm x 17.98 cm
Loquat
Greenless fields Of wintry days, Loquat blossoms on evergreen branches— Or, is that a frost?
Plover
Plovers chirp on Shoals in the Kamo River. From the moonlight The hills play hide and seek.
One major literary source Kenzan drew upon for his work was the Enki-kappo, a popular anthology of Ming Dynasty poetry translated from the Chinese into Japanese in the 1650s. But a more important source was the poetry written by the Japanese Buddhist priest Sanjonishi Sanetaka, who lived from 1455 to 1537:
Spring Moon
How many more years must I grow older? There’s no mist tonight , but the moon appears so blurred.
Kenzan’s own art and poetry were heavily influenced by Sanetaka. For Kenzan, autumn was a recurring theme:
Kenzan, Maples and River
Edo period, 18th century, 30.5 cm x 43.1 cm
Kenzan, Autumn Ivy,
after 1732, 21.3 cm x 27.6 cm
Though not yet winds through the pines blow all around and I dread they’ll scatter the crimson leaves of ivy.
After collecting matsutake mushrooms with a group of friends in 1692:
Like Xie Lingyun [of ancient China], Leaving my hut in mindless haste For a mountain temple, barren with fallen leaves, While still lost in high-minded amusements, The temple bell tolls the day’s end.
In 1962, Bernard Leach, ‘the Father of British studio pottery,’ made his fifth pilgrimage to Japan and chanced upon what first seemed like a startling discovery—a spectacular trove of 160 Kenzan ceramics and eight notebooks covering a period of 15 months when Kenzan was in his mid-70s. There were immediate allegations that the items were fakes, but Leach was convinced of their authenticity.
Now regarded as forgeries by most but not all critics , the notebooks contained pottery designs, descriptions of his work and materials, and stories of his hosts, characterized as Men of Tea, poetry, painting and pottery. Nostalgic waka and haiku punctuated almost every page. Falsely attributed to Kenzan or not, the poetry maintains a certain merit of its own. As translated by Leach:
The flowers of summer are gathered in festival;
How pleasant a quiet cup of sake.
A man leading a horse,
The autumn wind blows through its mane.
A priest sweeps pine needles
In cold autumn rain.
Over the notes of a flute,
The light snow falls.
From out of dead trees
Circle the rooks;
The moon takes their place.
The snows are melting
On the hills,
Nightingales sing again
As they did in Kyoto.
And one that Leach suggested was a self-portrait of the potter:
Amongst a group of willows There is always one that does not sway with the breeze.
Kenzan never married, though he adopted one son and later fathered another with a young Kyoto woman of the Miyazaki family. Both sons became potters themselves. Absent the master’s hand and diluted by imitators, the Kenzan style lost some of its luster in the mid-1700s. Sakai Hōitsu (1761—1829) is credited with reviving the brand in the 19th Century. The style continues to resonate artistically and commercially.
Toward the end of his life, Kenzan moved from Kyoto to Edo, where he enjoyed the friendship and support of his greatest patron, Prince Kōkan, abbot of the wealthy Buddhist Rinnōji temple. Kōkan died in 1738 at the age of 42. Three years later, Korin’s widow, Tayo, with whom Kenzan had an abiding friendship, also died. Having outlived patrons and friends, Kenzan’s last years were no doubt touched by some measure of loneliness. He moved a final time to Fukugawa on the banks of the Sumida River outside Edo on what is now called Tokyo Bay. He died in 1743 after a short illness, alone in his rooms at a boarding house owned by a timber merchant. His modest departure from the physical world belies the enduring legacy he left behind to generations of Japanese artists and potters.
Two death poems are inscribed on his gravestone. The first is a Buddhist epigram:
Pleasure and pain once passed Leave naught but dreams.
The second speaks more closely of the man:
All my life through These eighty-one years I have done what I wished In my own way: The whole world
In a mouthful.
Kenzan, Plum Trees
First half of 18th century, 113.98 cm x 292.42 cm
Russell Streur
Holder of two awards for excellence from the Georgia Poetry Society, Streur is the author of Fault Zones (Blue Hour Press, 2017) and his work is included in the anthology of Georgia poetry Stone, River, Sky (Negative Capability Press, 2015). He is currently the editor of the on-line eco-poetic journal, Plum Tree Tavern, located at https://theplumtreetavern.blogspot.com/
A Brilliant Solution
Following the recent onset of awareness
on the part of major political figures
national and international
of the criticality of the current conditions
of planet Earth, home to a wealth of creatures
among which algae, human beings,
and beavers
mind-boggling and praiseworthy measures have been taken
grounded on the unshakable respect towards
polar bears, almighty lobbies,
and pictures and videos depicting
malnourished children
relentlessly
dying
being the above-mentioned strategy
— although already criticised by imbeciles and activists —
set out to address these all-encompassing issues
in an unprecedented manner
as everything points to the fact
that nothing else might be done
at the time being
that is,
hope everybody dies
before hunger and climate change
might be held responsible
for their deaths
Maurizio Brancaleoni has had poetry and prose featured in numerous journals and anthologies. In February 2023 he published his first short story collection “New Parables and Other Oddities”. He has a bilingual blog where he posts literary gems, interviews and translations. In 2016 the Italian version of “A Brilliant Solution” was among the poems selected for a poetry and photography contest organized by the cultural association Civico 32 and the journal Versante Ripido.
