Slow Motion contains 350 poems, most of which are tanka, but also including tercets, short verse, and prose. A few sample poems are below:
the black
and white diamonds
of Holland Island Bar Light—
this too
belongs to cormorants
southern breakfast
asparagus fresh from the garden,
eggs and bacon
served on broad china plates
in an old plantation house
a little white boat
always busy
never doing anything
always going somewhere
happy never to arrive
a few vague stars—
although drunk,
the sailors
gaze up
in reverence
mild weather—
yet the dark warning
of clouds
piling up
beyond the mast
a polydactyl cat
walks the bulwark—
he, too,
is the offspring
of sailors
with worn out
sailing gloves I pull
the torn leech,
me and the boat
both feeling our age
the leaning tower
of Sharp's Island Light . . .
all that remains
of a vanished island,
a vanished time
Slow Motion : The Log of a Chesapeake Bay Skipjack, can be ordered
from Modern English Tanka Press at: http://www.lulu.com/content/2537507
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Slow Motion: Log of a Chesapeake Bay Skipjack
Slow Motion : The Log of a Chesapeake Bay Skipjack by M. Kei
Published by Modern English Tanka Press
"Slow Motion: The Log of a Chesapeake Bay Skipjack" by M. Kei is a
break-through collection of waterman poetry from the Chesapeake Bay
by a poet who actually knows what he is talking about. M. Kei crews
on the title boat, the Skipjack Martha Lewis. Kirsty Karkow, prize-
winning poet and author of "water poems" and "shorelines," says: "A
Skipjack is a historic vessel where form follows function with a
rough beauty. These characteristics are apparent in the sensitive,
poetic voyages of an aging boat and the men who work her sails. This
history and trip log is sure to delight any sailor or lover of the
Chesapeake Bay . . . and of poetry."
Baltimore, Maryland–May 27, 2008–Slow Motion : The Log of a
Chesapeake Bay Skipjack by M. Kei has been published in trade
paperback by Modern English Tanka Press, Baltimore, Maryland. This
break-through collection of waterman poetry from the Chesapeake Bay,
by a poet who actually knows what he is talking about, is sure to
delight any sailor or lover of the Chesapeake Bay and of poetry. The
poet M. Kei crews on the title boat, the Skipjack Martha Lewis, out
of Havre de Grace, Maryland. The short lyric forms used in Slow
Motion are perfect vehicles for the laconic voice of the waterman.
Kei has captured a bit of Chesapeake magic in a bottle and all who
love the Bay, boating, and poetry, are a little richer for it.
"Kei, in his Slow Motion: The Log of a Chesapeake Bay Skipjack, has
made these poems on the Chesapeake Bay with its sailboats and workmen
and beauty into a tour de force. Having read hundreds and hundreds of
modern haiku, I find that Kei's, along with his many tanka,
communicate his joy in the beauty of sky and wave and sea and work.
There is a sustaining harmony in the collection, at times earthy, at
times transcendental, at times Whitmanesque. In this journey of log
poetry, along with commentary and notes, Kei has extended the range
of our poetic world." –Sanford Goldstein, co-translator of
Midaregami, Tangled Hair
About Author:
M. Kei crews aboard a skipjack, a traditional wooden sailboat used to
fish for oysters in the Chesapeake Bay. He is the author of Heron
Sea, Short Poems of the Chesapeake Bay, and the editor of the
critically acclaimed anthology, Fire Pearls: Short Masterpieces of
the Human Heart. Kei edits the biannual tanka journal, Atlas Poetica,
which is dedicated to poetry of place. His latest project is Take
Five : Best Contemporary Tanka of 2008, of which he serves as founder
and editor-in-chief. He has published more than 800 poems and
scholarly articles in five languages and ten countries. He also
compiles the Bibliography of English-Language Tanka.
For media inquiries or to arrange an interview with the author,
contact: M. Kei by e-mail at kujaku (at) verizon (dot) net. Publisher
information at: www.modernenglishtankapress.com.
This book is available from www.Lulu.com/modernenglishtanka and from
major booksellers; or by order from the publisher. Complete
information and mail order form are available online at
www.modernenglishtankapress.com. Price: $16.95 USD. ISBN 978-0-6152-
1265-4. Trade paperback. 164 pages, 6.00" x 9.00", perfect binding,
60# cream interior paper, black and white interior ink, 100# exterior
paper, full-color exterior ink.
About Modern English Tanka Press:
Modern English Tanka Press is an independent equity publishing house
in Baltimore, Maryland, dedicated to producing books and periodicals
of lasting literary value. A family business, we treat our customers
and partners in publishing like family. Our publications are produced
using modern print-on-demand production and distribution methods. We
publish tanka, haiku, and other fine poetry. Our special mission is
to promote the tanka form of poetry, to educate newcomers to tanka
about this most ancient poetic form, and to work for wider
publication of tanka in both specialty and mainstream poetry venues.
To those ends, we publish the journals "Modern English Tanka," "Atlas
Poetica," "Modern Haiga," and special edition books of tanka, haiku,
and other fine verse. We operate www.TankaCentral.com, the internet
megasite for tanka, with its popular "Tanka News" blog, and the
poetry web hub, www.ShortVerse.com.
Contact:
Denis M. Garrison, owner
Modern English Tanka Press
443-802-1249
Email to dmg (at) themetpress (dot) com.
www.modernenglishtankapress.com www.modernenglishtanka.com
www.atlaspoetica.com
www.shortverse.com www.tankacentral.com www.tankanews.com
www.modernhaiga.com
Published by Modern English Tanka Press
"Slow Motion: The Log of a Chesapeake Bay Skipjack" by M. Kei is a
break-through collection of waterman poetry from the Chesapeake Bay
by a poet who actually knows what he is talking about. M. Kei crews
on the title boat, the Skipjack Martha Lewis. Kirsty Karkow, prize-
winning poet and author of "water poems" and "shorelines," says: "A
Skipjack is a historic vessel where form follows function with a
rough beauty. These characteristics are apparent in the sensitive,
poetic voyages of an aging boat and the men who work her sails. This
history and trip log is sure to delight any sailor or lover of the
Chesapeake Bay . . . and of poetry."
Baltimore, Maryland–May 27, 2008–Slow Motion : The Log of a
Chesapeake Bay Skipjack by M. Kei has been published in trade
paperback by Modern English Tanka Press, Baltimore, Maryland. This
break-through collection of waterman poetry from the Chesapeake Bay,
by a poet who actually knows what he is talking about, is sure to
delight any sailor or lover of the Chesapeake Bay and of poetry. The
poet M. Kei crews on the title boat, the Skipjack Martha Lewis, out
of Havre de Grace, Maryland. The short lyric forms used in Slow
Motion are perfect vehicles for the laconic voice of the waterman.
Kei has captured a bit of Chesapeake magic in a bottle and all who
love the Bay, boating, and poetry, are a little richer for it.
"Kei, in his Slow Motion: The Log of a Chesapeake Bay Skipjack, has
made these poems on the Chesapeake Bay with its sailboats and workmen
and beauty into a tour de force. Having read hundreds and hundreds of
modern haiku, I find that Kei's, along with his many tanka,
communicate his joy in the beauty of sky and wave and sea and work.
There is a sustaining harmony in the collection, at times earthy, at
times transcendental, at times Whitmanesque. In this journey of log
poetry, along with commentary and notes, Kei has extended the range
of our poetic world." –Sanford Goldstein, co-translator of
Midaregami, Tangled Hair
About Author:
M. Kei crews aboard a skipjack, a traditional wooden sailboat used to
fish for oysters in the Chesapeake Bay. He is the author of Heron
Sea, Short Poems of the Chesapeake Bay, and the editor of the
critically acclaimed anthology, Fire Pearls: Short Masterpieces of
the Human Heart. Kei edits the biannual tanka journal, Atlas Poetica,
which is dedicated to poetry of place. His latest project is Take
Five : Best Contemporary Tanka of 2008, of which he serves as founder
and editor-in-chief. He has published more than 800 poems and
scholarly articles in five languages and ten countries. He also
compiles the Bibliography of English-Language Tanka.
For media inquiries or to arrange an interview with the author,
contact: M. Kei by e-mail at kujaku (at) verizon (dot) net. Publisher
information at: www.modernenglishtankapress.com.
This book is available from www.Lulu.com/modernenglishtanka and from
major booksellers; or by order from the publisher. Complete
information and mail order form are available online at
www.modernenglishtankapress.com. Price: $16.95 USD. ISBN 978-0-6152-
1265-4. Trade paperback. 164 pages, 6.00" x 9.00", perfect binding,
60# cream interior paper, black and white interior ink, 100# exterior
paper, full-color exterior ink.
About Modern English Tanka Press:
Modern English Tanka Press is an independent equity publishing house
in Baltimore, Maryland, dedicated to producing books and periodicals
of lasting literary value. A family business, we treat our customers
and partners in publishing like family. Our publications are produced
using modern print-on-demand production and distribution methods. We
publish tanka, haiku, and other fine poetry. Our special mission is
to promote the tanka form of poetry, to educate newcomers to tanka
about this most ancient poetic form, and to work for wider
publication of tanka in both specialty and mainstream poetry venues.
To those ends, we publish the journals "Modern English Tanka," "Atlas
Poetica," "Modern Haiga," and special edition books of tanka, haiku,
and other fine verse. We operate www.TankaCentral.com, the internet
megasite for tanka, with its popular "Tanka News" blog, and the
poetry web hub, www.ShortVerse.com.
Contact:
Denis M. Garrison, owner
Modern English Tanka Press
443-802-1249
Email to dmg (at) themetpress (dot) com.
www.modernenglishtankapress.com www.modernenglishtanka.com
www.atlaspoetica.com
www.shortverse.com www.tankacentral.com www.tankanews.com
www.modernhaiga.com
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