Jeffrey, This gorgeous essay about these frontier poets (thinking of Ukraine, of course, as Trump drops US help and leaves these soldier "at sea")—I'm also reminded of what these poets captured and that took me to Kundera's _Art of the Novel_ where he says in the work of the great storytellers like Boccaccio and Dante, "we can make out this conviction: It is through action that man steps forth from the repetitive universe of the everyday where each person resembles every other person; it is through action that he distinguishes himself from others and becomes an individual."
The Japanese guardian poems are exquisite, so brief, so true.
My great-grandfather was stationed on the southern post of Halifax harbour in Nova Scotia, Canada, during the First World War. The harbour was a major artery of goods being shipped Europe for the war effort, so it was a potential target. Although U-boats planted mines near the harbour mouth, sinking a few ships, no attack ever came. But he was among those who helped respond to the devastating 1917 Halifax explosion that killed 2000 people when an empty cargo ship collided with a full munitions ship.
This is a rather silly thing to say (as I certainly wouldn’t want to be one) but there is something strangely romantic to me about a solider poet. Such seemingly disparate worlds melded into one — it’s very intriguing.
As usual, Jeffrey, your essay entertained and informed :)
Thank you, Michael. And I don't think it's silly to feel the romance of the situation, even though we know it wouldn't have romantic to them at all. Part of us yearns for that kind of romantic adventure (as many film makers know well), doesn't it?
The words in these poems are exquisite sadnesses, and, I feel somehow very relevant with certain events just now... a beautiful and well written post Jeffrey, thank you for always broadening my reading.
A wonderful tribute to the forgotten and the fallen. This reminds me, I recently read Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried" ~ his semi-autobiographical experience of the Vietnam War. It's powerful as you might imagine. I read it because I heard it was well written, not an easy read, but if you gravitate towards wartime stories, I'd recommend it.
Fascinating, Jeffrey. About a decade ago, I was pressed into teaching, for a couple of years, a Poetry of War class developed by another professor. I knew about half the material, and among the gaps offering me my own education was the Tang dynasty poetry -- Li Po, Tu Fu, others. The sakimori, from this brief glimpse, seem very alike in theme and feeling. So much longing for home. I think after the literature and poetry of love and romance, the literature of war -- especially the plight of the common soldier -- is the greatest vein of poignancy running through our literary record. About twenty years ago, I published an essay on the combat *film* in which I developed the longing for home as thematic "heaven" in contest with the "hell" of war. Thanks for adding to my frame of reference!
I'm so glad you found this interesting, Jay. Bubbling away in the background, and despite the threat of war, was the start of huge Japanese interest in Tang culture - not only poetry, but also, I believe, systems of governance.
Beautiful Jeffrey, thank you for introducing me to these moving poems. I’m reminded by them that JRR Tolkien did frontier duty during WWI, being unfit for more active service (if I remember that correctly) and that much of the mood of the Fellowship’s journey comes from those insights. All very bittersweet. Do you know how long the men had to remain on the frontier? I hope they did get home at last.
Thank you, Michelle! I wasn't aware that Tolkien did frontier duty in the war. What an intriguing connection with the sakimori! I've not yet been able to track down individual stories of the sakimori. The traces they left were in their poems at a time when most people's lives went mostly unrecorded. I'd like to think some made it back to their home towns.
I feared the poems would be all we know. The book I referred to is Tolkien and The Great War: The Threshold of Middle-Earth by John Garth. I found it illuminating and it didn’t blink the more unpalatable contemporary ideas that he absorbed (as we all must, a bit, because if you stand in the rain, you get wet).
Jeffrey, This gorgeous essay about these frontier poets (thinking of Ukraine, of course, as Trump drops US help and leaves these soldier "at sea")—I'm also reminded of what these poets captured and that took me to Kundera's _Art of the Novel_ where he says in the work of the great storytellers like Boccaccio and Dante, "we can make out this conviction: It is through action that man steps forth from the repetitive universe of the everyday where each person resembles every other person; it is through action that he distinguishes himself from others and becomes an individual."
Thank you, Mary! I deeply appreciate your comments and that fascinating quote from Kundera, which is new to me.
Lovely poems, Jeffrey, and lovely essay, of course.
Sadly, time goes by, but mankind doesn't seem to learn from its bellicose past.
Indeed! This kind of learning seems beyond us as a species, not matter how hard some individuals try to preserve insights into better ways of being.
The Japanese guardian poems are exquisite, so brief, so true.
My great-grandfather was stationed on the southern post of Halifax harbour in Nova Scotia, Canada, during the First World War. The harbour was a major artery of goods being shipped Europe for the war effort, so it was a potential target. Although U-boats planted mines near the harbour mouth, sinking a few ships, no attack ever came. But he was among those who helped respond to the devastating 1917 Halifax explosion that killed 2000 people when an empty cargo ship collided with a full munitions ship.
Thank you for sharing that story of your great-grandfather, Holly! That must have been a hard place to be posted.
Fascinating!
This is a rather silly thing to say (as I certainly wouldn’t want to be one) but there is something strangely romantic to me about a solider poet. Such seemingly disparate worlds melded into one — it’s very intriguing.
As usual, Jeffrey, your essay entertained and informed :)
Thank you, Michael. And I don't think it's silly to feel the romance of the situation, even though we know it wouldn't have romantic to them at all. Part of us yearns for that kind of romantic adventure (as many film makers know well), doesn't it?
Yes, great point. That kind of adventure certainly calls to something within us :)
The words in these poems are exquisite sadnesses, and, I feel somehow very relevant with certain events just now... a beautiful and well written post Jeffrey, thank you for always broadening my reading.
Thank you, Susie. I'm glad these haunting poems spoke to you.
A lovely essay, and lovely poems to reflect upon.
Thank you so much, June!
A wonderful tribute to the forgotten and the fallen. This reminds me, I recently read Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried" ~ his semi-autobiographical experience of the Vietnam War. It's powerful as you might imagine. I read it because I heard it was well written, not an easy read, but if you gravitate towards wartime stories, I'd recommend it.
Thank you for the tip, Lani!
Fascinating, Jeffrey. About a decade ago, I was pressed into teaching, for a couple of years, a Poetry of War class developed by another professor. I knew about half the material, and among the gaps offering me my own education was the Tang dynasty poetry -- Li Po, Tu Fu, others. The sakimori, from this brief glimpse, seem very alike in theme and feeling. So much longing for home. I think after the literature and poetry of love and romance, the literature of war -- especially the plight of the common soldier -- is the greatest vein of poignancy running through our literary record. About twenty years ago, I published an essay on the combat *film* in which I developed the longing for home as thematic "heaven" in contest with the "hell" of war. Thanks for adding to my frame of reference!
I'm so glad you found this interesting, Jay. Bubbling away in the background, and despite the threat of war, was the start of huge Japanese interest in Tang culture - not only poetry, but also, I believe, systems of governance.
Wonderful essay. Those poems are so sad.
Thank you, Anna. They are indeed very sad.
Beautiful Jeffrey, thank you for introducing me to these moving poems. I’m reminded by them that JRR Tolkien did frontier duty during WWI, being unfit for more active service (if I remember that correctly) and that much of the mood of the Fellowship’s journey comes from those insights. All very bittersweet. Do you know how long the men had to remain on the frontier? I hope they did get home at last.
Thank you, Michelle! I wasn't aware that Tolkien did frontier duty in the war. What an intriguing connection with the sakimori! I've not yet been able to track down individual stories of the sakimori. The traces they left were in their poems at a time when most people's lives went mostly unrecorded. I'd like to think some made it back to their home towns.
I feared the poems would be all we know. The book I referred to is Tolkien and The Great War: The Threshold of Middle-Earth by John Garth. I found it illuminating and it didn’t blink the more unpalatable contemporary ideas that he absorbed (as we all must, a bit, because if you stand in the rain, you get wet).
I should add that since the sakimori generally had a three-year tour of duty, the probability is that many did indeed return home in the end.
Depending on the life expectancy of the time, that would seem even longer. Thank you for sharing that information.