Meals at Midnight
by Michael McClintock
Meals at Midnight, Poems by Michael McClintock, the newest collection by this renowned poet, is a heady banquet of the finest of modern tanka poetry in English—a feast for heart and soul. Anyone who loves tanka and haiku will be thrilled by this outstanding collection, already widely praised by poets and critics alike:
"Those who knew Michael McClintock as the foremost poet of ‘liberated haiku' decades ago will discover here a more deeply liberated tanka poet. In Meals at Midnight we find the utter simplicity of a man who has found the world new, through love, and with that, a language free of artifice or struggles for effect. These are deeply, purely, the poems of a liberated heart, innocent and playful against the tapestry of the universe-
tonight
I'm going out to count
the stars-
if you wait up for me
I might bring back a few
It has been worth the wait."
-William J. Higginson, author, The Haiku Handbook, etc.
"Michael McClintock has given us an exquisite collection where every poem, in its tight and masterfully-crafted lines, is rich with unexpected imagery and layers of narrative. Every poem vibrates with the eternal resonance of myth and seasons within its immediate story; every one gives us something far beyond the moment. With McClintock as our guide, we are with these poems ‘in that lucid hour/when the sun's a chariot/wheeling through the cedars.'"
-Laura Maffei, Editor and Founder, American Tanka
"Michael McClintock's tanka bear the stamp of authenticity. Shot through with a wry sense of humor, they contain the flavor of a man who has lived broadly yet deeply, who's taken his share of knocks, and who has no time for insignificant frills or the lies so many people tell themselves. Beyond their rich craft and formal design, the poems of Meals at Midnight rest upon insight, character, and a gusto for life. Another of his outstanding achievements."
-Dave Bacharach, Editor of Ribbons: Tanka Society of America Journal
"All these years I have thought of Michael McClintock as a tough old bird. How delightful then to read this collection of gentle poems. The word ‘gentle' may be misleading, for the poet in his lonely moments responds with strength and acceptance to what such a moment brings. The title itself resonates for me, for even though only one poem is about a midnight meal, I am reminded of Takuboku's essay ‘Poems to Eat.' These are poems in that vein. That is to say, a tanka poem is the very life blood of being, as important as food is. I feel in these poems the importance of nature, but it is not the nature so often seen in haiku and tanka, a nature used to conveniently fit a human condition. No, these poems are the poet living in nature, concerned with nature, appreciative of nature. And with this love of nature is the poet's love of a woman. To share these feelings with Michael offers something positive in this modern world gone berserk. As Michael shaves the shadows from his face, so do we-finding in these quiet poems a good deal that is relevant amid the turbulence of our world."
-Sanford Goldstein, Atellib House, Japan
"These tanka-and some haiku-speak of a world that is both intimate and domestic and yet vast and ineffable. It is poetry that for all of us is instrumental in ‘making a home between them' as Michael McClintock says. He remains one of the strongest and original voices in contemporary American tanka."
-Miriam Sagan, author of Map of the Lost (University of New Mexico Press) and columnist, Writer's Digest
"I like Michael McClintock's poems of animism . . . they are very attractive. In Japanese literature, particularly in tanka, animism is a very traditional way of viewing the world. However, it's very difficult to use effectively. McClintock's animist tanka are very natural and vivid-
one at a time
I step on stones
and cross the stream-
when I'm across, the stones
go back to what they were doing"
-Kozue Uzawa, translator of Ferris Wheel, winner of the 2007 Donald Keene Translation Award for Japanese Literature, and editor of Gusts
About the Author:
Michael McClintock holds degrees from Occidental College and the University of Southern California in English and American Literature, Asian Studies, and Information Science. McClintock's poetry has been widely published and translated internationally, including by Nobel Laureate, Czeslaw Milosz. He resides in Los Angeles and Fresno, California, following a career as principal librarian, film and recordings curator, and administrator for the County of Los Angeles Public Library System.
For media inquiries or to arrange an interview with the author, contact Michael McClintock by e-mail at MchlMcClintock@aol.com. Publisher information at: www.modernenglishtankapress.com.
This book is available from www.Lulu.com/modernenglishtanka, from major booksellers, and from the publisher. Complete information and a mail or email order form are available online at www.modernenglishtankapress.com. Hard cover with dust jacket-Price: $24.95 USD. ISBN 9 978-1-935398-01-1. Trade paperback-Price: $11.95 USD. ISBN 978-1-935398-00-4. 104 pages, 6.00" x 9.00", perfect binding, 60# cream interior paper, black and white interior ink, 100# exterior paper, full-color exterior ink.
Return to the Tanka Online Bookstore Main Page.
Meals at Midnight, Poems by Michael McClintock, the newest collection by this renowned poet, is a heady banquet of the finest of modern tanka poetry in English—a feast for heart and soul. Anyone who loves tanka and haiku will be thrilled by this outstanding collection, already widely praised by poets and critics alike:
"Those who knew Michael McClintock as the foremost poet of ‘liberated haiku' decades ago will discover here a more deeply liberated tanka poet. In Meals at Midnight we find the utter simplicity of a man who has found the world new, through love, and with that, a language free of artifice or struggles for effect. These are deeply, purely, the poems of a liberated heart, innocent and playful against the tapestry of the universe-
tonight
I'm going out to count
the stars-
if you wait up for me
I might bring back a few
It has been worth the wait."
-William J. Higginson, author, The Haiku Handbook, etc.
"Michael McClintock has given us an exquisite collection where every poem, in its tight and masterfully-crafted lines, is rich with unexpected imagery and layers of narrative. Every poem vibrates with the eternal resonance of myth and seasons within its immediate story; every one gives us something far beyond the moment. With McClintock as our guide, we are with these poems ‘in that lucid hour/when the sun's a chariot/wheeling through the cedars.'"
-Laura Maffei, Editor and Founder, American Tanka
"Michael McClintock's tanka bear the stamp of authenticity. Shot through with a wry sense of humor, they contain the flavor of a man who has lived broadly yet deeply, who's taken his share of knocks, and who has no time for insignificant frills or the lies so many people tell themselves. Beyond their rich craft and formal design, the poems of Meals at Midnight rest upon insight, character, and a gusto for life. Another of his outstanding achievements."
-Dave Bacharach, Editor of Ribbons: Tanka Society of America Journal
"All these years I have thought of Michael McClintock as a tough old bird. How delightful then to read this collection of gentle poems. The word ‘gentle' may be misleading, for the poet in his lonely moments responds with strength and acceptance to what such a moment brings. The title itself resonates for me, for even though only one poem is about a midnight meal, I am reminded of Takuboku's essay ‘Poems to Eat.' These are poems in that vein. That is to say, a tanka poem is the very life blood of being, as important as food is. I feel in these poems the importance of nature, but it is not the nature so often seen in haiku and tanka, a nature used to conveniently fit a human condition. No, these poems are the poet living in nature, concerned with nature, appreciative of nature. And with this love of nature is the poet's love of a woman. To share these feelings with Michael offers something positive in this modern world gone berserk. As Michael shaves the shadows from his face, so do we-finding in these quiet poems a good deal that is relevant amid the turbulence of our world."
-Sanford Goldstein, Atellib House, Japan
"These tanka-and some haiku-speak of a world that is both intimate and domestic and yet vast and ineffable. It is poetry that for all of us is instrumental in ‘making a home between them' as Michael McClintock says. He remains one of the strongest and original voices in contemporary American tanka."
-Miriam Sagan, author of Map of the Lost (University of New Mexico Press) and columnist, Writer's Digest
"I like Michael McClintock's poems of animism . . . they are very attractive. In Japanese literature, particularly in tanka, animism is a very traditional way of viewing the world. However, it's very difficult to use effectively. McClintock's animist tanka are very natural and vivid-
one at a time
I step on stones
and cross the stream-
when I'm across, the stones
go back to what they were doing"
-Kozue Uzawa, translator of Ferris Wheel, winner of the 2007 Donald Keene Translation Award for Japanese Literature, and editor of Gusts
About the Author:
Michael McClintock holds degrees from Occidental College and the University of Southern California in English and American Literature, Asian Studies, and Information Science. McClintock's poetry has been widely published and translated internationally, including by Nobel Laureate, Czeslaw Milosz. He resides in Los Angeles and Fresno, California, following a career as principal librarian, film and recordings curator, and administrator for the County of Los Angeles Public Library System.
For media inquiries or to arrange an interview with the author, contact Michael McClintock by e-mail at MchlMcClintock@aol.com. Publisher information at: www.modernenglishtankapress.com.
This book is available from www.Lulu.com/modernenglishtanka, from major booksellers, and from the publisher. Complete information and a mail or email order form are available online at www.modernenglishtankapress.com. Hard cover with dust jacket-Price: $24.95 USD. ISBN 9 978-1-935398-01-1. Trade paperback-Price: $11.95 USD. ISBN 978-1-935398-00-4. 104 pages, 6.00" x 9.00", perfect binding, 60# cream interior paper, black and white interior ink, 100# exterior paper, full-color exterior ink.
Return to the Tanka Online Bookstore Main Page.