Book Series
Excursions in Poetry
These books take us into the realm of poetry, a performance medium where special conditions obtain.
They also, in their way, make the point that no tradition can be properly studied in isolation: none is self-contained. The Psalms form a second witness to Biblical times; the courtiers of Nara Japan courtiers knew all of Six Dynasties Chinese literature; Tang and later Chinese poems make subtle allusions to earlier poems, and in turn are part of the referential horizon for the poets of later ages. To read these things properly, we need to know at least a little of what the poets themselves knew.
The Psalms: In Their Own Time
Chinese Poems: Glimpses of a Virtuoso Tradition (2026 or earlier)
Yakamochi: Half a Life in PoetryAvailable volumes in this and our other series may be ordered here.
