{"product_id":"mad-monk-ikkyu-9781646625253","title":"Mad Monk Ikkyu","description":"\u003cp\u003eAt first, John Guzlowski's \u003cem\u003eIkkyū\u003c\/em\u003e reminded me of Thomas Merton's \u003cem\u003eThe Way of Chuang Tzu\u003c\/em\u003e. But Guzlowski broke away from the tradition of Western poets translating Asian texts. These Ikkyū poems were not originally written by the great Japanese Buddhist monk; rather, they were playfully invented, forged by the vast and imaginative mind of Guzlowski. Like any Zen text, Guzlowski's \u003cem\u003eIkkyū\u003c\/em\u003e is a journey into contradictions, where laughter and sadness commingle, where meaning is embedded in meaninglessness, where sound is found in silence, where from winter comes spring which is followed by fall. There is both simplicity and depth in this little book. And in the center of it, the life force of these poems, is the still point, one that we desperately need in our chaotic world of strife, confusion, and ignorance.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e -Bunkong Tuon\u003c\/strong\u003e, writer and critic at Union College\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJohn Guzlowski\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003etraces the journey of the mad monk poet\u003cem\u003e Ikkyū\u003c\/em\u003e from the sea to the temple in a series of startling, luminous, precisely imagined, brief, interlocking poems-poems in the spirit of Ikkyū, certainly, but in a voice all his own; poems that make us laugh at ourselves even as they lead us deeper into an acceptance of the seasons of life and the inevitability of death. Each of these poems is a small lantern lighting the way toward wisdom and faith, revealing the world's beauty along the way.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e -Cecilia Woloch\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eCarpathia\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI met Ikkyū today, fifteenth-century mad-monk, long thought dead, but as alive as possible in the words of John Guzlowski's \u003cem\u003eThe Mad Monk Journeys from the Sea to the Temple\u003c\/em\u003e. Guzlowski claims these are not Ikkyū words, but Ikkyū's final bit of mischief may be his invasion of the author's twenty-first-century pen to prove his influence is eternal-Eternal like the zen and humor in these poems. Eternal like reading this is a master class on the Tatami mats of Kyoto. John Guzowski gives a glimpse into an ancient poet's journey with a sensibility that reins with an endearing modern simplicity. It's a journey well worth taking.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e -Rick Lupert\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Tokyo-Van Nuys Express\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGuzlowski, John:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - John Guzlowski's poetry appears in Garrison Keillor's Writer's Almanac, North American Review, Rattle, Ontario Review, Salon.Com, and many other journals. His poems and personal essays about his Polish parents' experiences as slave laborers in Nazi Germany and refugees making a life for themselves in Chicago appear in his award-winning memoir Echoes of Tattered Tongues (Aquila Polonica Press). He is also a columnist for the Dziennik Zwiazkowy (the oldest Polish language daily in America) and the author of Suitcase Charlie and Little Altar Boy, noir mystery novels set in Chicago.","brand":"Finishing Line Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50449409835282,"sku":"9781646625253","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_9e65eb35-8050-468b-a573-3a0f576fa915.jpg?v=1729744135","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/mad-monk-ikkyu-9781646625253","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}