Tricycle | Awake in the World

A profile of two Korean poets who were called unpatriotic for practicing Japanese forms of poetry. Like other Koreans who grew up under Japanese colonial rule, from 1910 to 1945, Son and Rhee learned Japanese, rather than Korean, at school. When the Japanese withdrew after their defeat in World War II, many of these Koreans found themselves without a true mother tongue - ashamed to speak Japanese but unable to read Korean well. But unlike others, Rhee and Son maintained their love of Japanese poetry long after the liberation. For that, they paid a price: a lifetime of disregard or disapproval from fellow Koreans. (And North Korea test-fired more missiles. The U.S. More »

Though the term "Zen Monster" may bring to mind the Buddha-on-Godzilla image from Brad Warner's Sit Down and Shut Up, Zen Monster is actually a new magazine full of politics, religion, criticism, poetry, fiction, book reviews, and art. It's described as "a voice for independent poets, artists and writers outside of any hierarchical or ecclesiastical Buddhist affiliation." It's very pretty, too, thanks to designer Charles Rue Woods, a longtime friend of Tricycle. Contributors to the first issue include Norman Fischer, Philip Whalen, Susan Bee, Ann Waldman, Gary Snyder, and many more. More »