{"product_id":"applause-for-a-cloud-9781939568991","title":"Applause for a Cloud","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eSayumi\u003cbr\u003eKamakura's \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cb\u003eApplause for a Cloud\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e uses the haiku form to attend to everyday life with a\u003cbr\u003ecosmological acuteness, invoking wonder on macro and micro scales.\u003c\/strong\u003eSayumi Kamakura juxtaposes a surreal dailiness with a\u003cbr\u003ecosmological acuteness, invoking wonder on macro and micro scales. The\u003cbr\u003eparadoxical frictions in her work resolve into moments of lucidity just as\u003cbr\u003eoften as they perplex. Although she writes in the haiku tradition, her poems\u003cbr\u003edetour from the conventional parameters for haiku, such as syllabic\u003cbr\u003erestrictions and a fixed seasonal reference. Her flexible approach to the\u003cbr\u003elong-standing form allows her to explore new emotional frequencies across a\u003cbr\u003erange of subject matter. The book's four sections--everyday life in Japan, \u003cbr\u003eexperiences in Morocco and Italy, her husband's cancer diagnosis, and\u003cbr\u003ereflections on the pandemic--reveal the preoccupations of a poet invested in\u003cbr\u003erendering her experiences with a mix of traditional and contemporary motifs\u003cbr\u003ealongside a subtle wit. The natural world is always close at hand, yet Kamakura\u003cbr\u003edoes not merely depict phenomena. She creates moments of stillness that usher\u003cbr\u003ethe reader into her inner world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSayumi Kamakura\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of numerous poetry collections, including \u003ci\u003eMoisture\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCross in the Water\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eFrom the Skylight\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLa La La Goes the Sea\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Collected Haiku of Sayumi Kamakura\u003c\/i\u003e. Her work has appeared in dozens of anthologies in Japan and overseas, and she is the only haiku poet featured in \u003ci\u003eJapanese Women Poets: An Anthology\u003c\/i\u003e edited by Hiroaki Sato. She is the recipient of the Oki Sango Prize, Modern Haiku Association Prize, and the Azsacra International Poetry Award.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJames Shea\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of two poetry collections, \u003ci\u003eThe Lost Novel \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eStar in the Eye\u003c\/i\u003e, both from Fence Books. He has received grants from the Fulbright US Scholar Program, Hong Kong Arts Development Council, National Endowment for the Arts, and Vermont Arts Council. He is coeditor of \u003ci\u003eThe Routledge Global Haiku Reader\u003c\/i\u003e and cotranslator of \u003ci\u003eMoving a Stone: Selected Poems of Yam Gong\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Black Ocean","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51243588387090,"sku":"9781939568991","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_d0f4cb29-d8e9-45f4-b8f5-89ca6e6db664.jpg?v=1745867372","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/applause-for-a-cloud-9781939568991","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}