Everyday Mind XV

By Tekkan

I am Tekkan. I have married the poetic forms of the sonnet and the tanka. A story is told in the sonnet - using three quatrains, and a final couplet. The story reaches a conclusion in the couplet. The tanka offers a commentary or counterpoint to the sonnet - the combined poems have two endings. The meaning is direct - I want people to understand clearly. Metaphors are inspired by Shakespeare, the (aimed-for) precision imitates the Japanese. Mixing the sonnet with the tanka combines the sensibility of the Occident and the Orient - as I have done by living in America, England, and Japan.

"Tekkan" is the dharma name I was given. I use Zen mediation to make poetry of ordinary events. Tekkan means, Iron Man, a settled practitioner of great determination.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1734351063
• ISBN13: 9781734351064
• Release Date: August 2020
• Publisher: Barry MacDonald
• Length: 106 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"