St. Mark's Bookshop

Poetry. Certain poems of Zen masters, including work by Ikkyu, Basho, and Dogen, have haunted and nourished readers from around the world for centuries--and Stephen Berg for fifty years. Driven to know "what these people thought, believed, felt," Berg rewrote existing translations to create provocative, energized, and multilayered versions. These are not new poems, nor are they old poems. These are explorations into the deeper resonances of Zen masters, expounding on the simple themes of the minute and overpowering them. This is Zen poetry to the core, nodding to the poets who came before while breathing new life into the forms and meanings. "We need poets like this. Mr. Berg relentlessly describes what we would often prefer to forget but can't allow ourselves to forget"--The New York Times Book Review. Stephen Berg is the founder and co-editor of The American Poetry Review and author of numerous collections of poetry and translations. He lives in Philadelphia.