Ink on Paper: Poems on Chinese & Japanese Paintings

by John Wilson

As if done with sumi ink, these verses by John Wilson are meditative responses to the landscapes of great classical masters. Each poem faces a reproduction of a work by an artist of mythic stature, among them Sesshu, Sesson, Buson, Musashi, Sengai, Shih K'o, Korin, Ku K'ai-chih, Kusumi Morikage, Taiga, and Kung K'ai. The succinct loveliness of the poems seems often as acute as the verses of Li Po and Tu Fu.

John Wilson studied Japanese for four years and has lived in Japan. He teaches Asian and Western literature in the College of Creative Studies at UCSB. He has published his poems in anthologies and journals, and has translated Smoke in the Mountain Valley by Yoshiko Shigekane.

Genres: Poetry

64 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2001

Reviews

[Nicole Woods · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love the idea of writing poetry based on paintings. I like how art can breed more art.

The poetry transports you, makes you feel present within the paintings, and makes simple objects/subjects so much deeper, surrounds them with more story and truly brings them to life. I like the style of the reflections.

And the art itself is beautiful to look at.

[reading woman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A visually pleasing experience--this is a beautiful book. Wilson interprets Sumi-e paintings with an acute sense of the storyteller. How delightful!