‘Tokyo Poetry Journal’: an experimental space for Japan’s English-language poets
by Iain Maloney
The third issue of the “Tokyo Poetry Journal” takes
music as its central theme and, rather in the manner of the Nobel
Committee for Literature, has chosen to blur the lines between poetry
and songwriting. The first half of the new volume features song lyrics
accompanied by QR codes that, once scanned, take the reader to songs on
SoundCloud. Ranging from Bob Dylan-esque acoustic numbers to bilingual
hip hop tracks, the editors are to be commended for this multiplatform
approach to publishing. However, reading the lyrics on paper without the
musical framework renders them somewhat denuded.
Taylor Mignon and Jordan A. Y. Smith’s text on the Japanese Fluxus anti-art movement of the 1960s is another highlight. It presents and responds to unorthodox and experimental musical “scores” created by the movement, and it is in this text that the boundary between poetry and music is most successfully dissolved in the journal.
“Tokyo Poetry Journal” is proving to be fertile ground for experimentation among Japan’s English-speaking poets.
Tokyo Poetry Journal Vol. 3, by Taylor Mignon.
119 pages
TOKYO POETRY JOURNAL, Poetry.
One standout piece in the second half is Ray Craig’s “Kiss
Me Series,” where lines like “Kiss me with Cocteau Twins lullabies on
your lips” in Sex Pistols-style lettering are presented alongside badly
photocopied pictures of models, creating a wash of nostalgia. The
interplay of words and visuals recalls adolescent passion and fanzine
culture. Equally resonant are the haiku and paired photographs of Kit
Nagamura, a longtime travel writer for The Japan Times.119 pages
TOKYO POETRY JOURNAL, Poetry.
Taylor Mignon and Jordan A. Y. Smith’s text on the Japanese Fluxus anti-art movement of the 1960s is another highlight. It presents and responds to unorthodox and experimental musical “scores” created by the movement, and it is in this text that the boundary between poetry and music is most successfully dissolved in the journal.
“Tokyo Poetry Journal” is proving to be fertile ground for experimentation among Japan’s English-speaking poets.