Sun At Midnight: Poems and Letters

"An undisputed master."—The New York TimesLong out of print, this reissue is the first translation into English of the work of Muso Soseki, the thirteenth-century Zen roshi and founder of the rock garden. A gorgeous introduction by co-translator W.S. Merwin sets the stage for 130 poems and six letters to the Emperor that combine delicacy and lightness with penetrating plainness. Essential for poets, gardeners, and students of Zen.Toki-no-Ge (Satori Poem)Year after yearI dug in the earthlooking for the blue of heavenonly to feelthe pile of dirtchoking meuntil once in the dead of nightI tripped on a broken brickand kicked it into the airand saw that without a thoughtI had smashed the bonesof the empty skyBorn ten years after Dante Alighieric, Muso Soseki was the most famous Zen monk of his time, and is considered the father of the rock garden. Muso spent much of his early life practicing Zen in remote temples and hermitages. In spite of this isolation, his reputation grew, and he served as an advisor and teacher to several emperors, as well as to more than thirteen thousand students.W.S. Merwin is one of the world's foremost translators of poetry.Co-translator Soiku Shigematsu is a Zen scholar, poet, and translator who serves as the abbot of Shogen-ji Temple in Shimizu, Japan. Read more