Clerk, Jayana (ed.); Ruth Siegel (ed.);
Modern literatures of the non-Western world: where the waters are born
HarperCollins College Publishers, 1995, 1223 pages
ISBN 0065012690, 9780065012699
topics: | literature | | world | fiction | poetry | anthology
modernized the tanka - a form of poetry earlier focused on the beauty of nature etc, focusing instead on psychological drama. 1901 published Midaregami (tangled hair) w 399 tankas.
Last autumn
The three of us tossed acorns
To the scattering carp.
Now in the cold morning wind off the pond
He and I stand hand in chilling hand.
(tr. Kenneth Rexroth and Ikuko Atsumi) p.16
I am so ashamed, my friend. Hearing your song I tremble in shame. That is because I hear your song alone -- I, who have parted from my love. -p.19 tr. David McCann
hope cannot be said to exist, nor can it be said not to exist. It is just like roads across the earth. For actually the earth had no roads to begin with, but when many men pass one way, a road is made. - tr. Yang Hsien-Yi and Gladys Yang
(tr. Howard Hibbet) Seikichi is the most artistic tattoer of Edo (Tokyo, around late 18th c., perhaps). A former ukiyoye painter, some of his art has survived his "decline to the status of a tattooer". His artful tattoos are famous for "unrivaled booldness and sensual charm". Deep in his heart the young tattooer concealed a secret pleasure, and a secret desire. His pleasure lay in the agony men felt as he drove his needle into them, torturing their swollen, blood-red flesh; and the louder they groaned, the keener was Seikichi's strange delight. 30 While he has tattoed many men, it is his dream to tattoo a woman. His woman will kill torture and kill many men with her beauty, like a black widow.
(p. 35-43, tr. Kojima Takahashi) from Paul Varley's Japanese Culture: A sickly but intellectually precocious youth, Akutagawa compiled a brilliant academic record throughout a school career that led to graduation from the English Literature department of Tokyo Imperial University in 1916. So extensive was his knowledge of the literature and scholarship (especially philosophy) of Japan, China, and the West that one his contemporaries even declared him to be the best-read man of his generation.2l Akutagawa published his first short story in a literary journal in 1914, and for the remainder of his brief life concentrated almost exclusively on the short-story form. A recent commentator has suggested much about Akutagawa's writing in asserting that the European artist who could best have illustrated his stories was Aubrey Beardsley. Like Beardsley, Akutagawa had a “superlative technique,” provided an “abundance of decorative detail,” and had a great “love of grotesques.”2~ The fascination of Akutagawa's handling of ancient tales as the material for his stories lies not only in the powerful narrative style in which he presents them but also in his exceptional ingenuity in probing the psychological forces-often bizarrely surprising-that may have lain behind the tales. Akutagawa's suicide in 1927 by means of an overdose of sleeping pills was one of the most sensational news events of its time. He had long suffered from various physical ailments and from fits of mental depression, and he may even have been schizophrenic. Still, the apparent care and deliberateness with which he planned his death chillingly implied to many people a far more profound intellectual and emotional despair. In his suicide note Akutagawa referred only to a feeling of “vague anxiety,” but others have chosen to interpret his act, on the one hand, in broadly social terms (for example, as a protest against the moral vacuity of Taishō- early Shōwa” life) and, on the other hand, as an inevitable end result of the predominantly negative aspect of creativity observable in so many modern Japanese writers. If one accepts the latter thesis, Akutagawa may be seen as setting the model for the suicides in the post-World War I1 period of Dazai Osamu and Mishima Yukio. Akutagawa's In a Grove (1921) was adapted by Akira Kurosawa into "Rashomon". Akutagawa also wrote a story called "Rashomon" but it is completely different.
an early modernist short story consisting of seven varying accounts of the murder of a samurai, Kanazawa no Takehiro, whose corpse has been found in a bamboo forest near Kyoto. Each section simultaneously clarifies and obfuscates what the reader knows about the murder, eventually creating a complex and contradictory vision of events... Plot summary The story opens with the account of a woodcutter who has found a man's body in the woods. The woodcutter reports that man died of a single sword slash to the chest, and that the trampled leaves around the body showed there had been a violent struggle, but otherwise lacked any significant evidence as to what actually happened. There were no weapons nearby, and no horses—only a single piece of rope, a comb and a lot of blood. The next account is delivered by a traveling Buddhist priest. He says that he met the man, who was accompanied by a woman on horseback, on the road, around noon the day before the murder. The man was carrying a sword, a bow and a black quiver. All of these, along with the woman's horse, a tall, short-maned palomino, were missing when the woodcutter discovered the body. The next person to testify is a ho-men (??, a released prisoner working under contract to the police, similar to a bounty hunter). He has captured an infamous criminal named Tajo-maru. Tajo-maru was injured when thrown from a horse (a tall, short-maned palomino), and he is carrying a bow and a black quiver, which do not belong to his usual arsenal. This proves, he says, that Tajo-maru was the perpetrator. Tajo-maru was not carrying the dead man's sword, however. The next testimony is from an old woman, who identifies herself as the mother of the missing girl. Her daughter is a beautiful, strong-willed 19-year-old named Masago, married to Kanazawa no Takehiro—a 26-year-old samurai from Wakasa. Her daughter, she says, has never been with a man other than Takehiro. She begs the police to find her daughter. Next, Tajo-maru confesses. He says that he met them on the road in the forest, and upon first seeing Masago, decided that was going to rape her. In order to rape Masago unhindered, he separated the couple, luring Takehiro into the woods with the promise of buried treasure. He then stuffed his mouth full of leaves, tied him to a tree and fetched Masago. When Masago saw her husband tied to the tree, she pulled a dagger from her bosom and tried to stab Tajo-maru, but he knocked the knife out of her hand, and he had his way with her. Originally, he had no intention of killing the man, he claims, but after the rape, she begged him to either kill her husband or kill himself—she could not live if two men knew her shame. She would leave with the last man standing. Tajo-maru did not wish to kill the Takehiro in a cowardly manner, so he untied him and they had a swordfight. During the duel, Masago fled. Tajo-maru dispatched the man and took the man's sword, bow, and quiver, as well as the woman's horse. He says that he sold the sword before he was captured by the bounty hunter. The second-to-last account is that of Masago. According to her, after the rape, Tajo-maru fled, and her husband, still tied to the tree, looked at her with great disdain. She was ashamed that she had been raped, and no longer wished to live, but she wanted him to die with her. He agreed, or so she believed—he couldn't actually say anything because his mouth was still stuffed full of leaves—and she plunged her dagger into his chest. She then cut the rope that bound Takehiro, and ran into the forest, whereupon she attempted to commit suicide numerous times, she said, but her spirit was too strong to die. Of all of the accounts of the crime, the woman's is arguably the least believable, and in great discordance with the other two. At the end of her confession, she weeps. The final account comes from Takehiro's ghost, as delivered through a spirit medium. The ghost says that after the rape, Tajo-maru persuaded Masago to leave her husband and become his own wife, which she agreed to do under one condition: He would have to kill Takehiro. Tajo-maru became enraged at the suggestion, kicked her to the ground, and asked Takehiro if he should kill the dishonorable woman. Hearing this, Masago fled into the forest. Tajo-maru then cut Takehiro's bonds and ran away. Takehiro grabbed Masago's fallen dagger and plunged it into his chest. Shortly before he died, he sensed someone creep up to him and steal the dagger from his chest. Throughout, it is obvious that he is furious at his wife.
Preface Part 1: East Asia - Japan, Korea And China Introduction 3 Yosano Akiko (1878-1942) [Japan] 15 Three Modern Tanka: Purple Butterflies, Last Autumn; The day when mountains move Han Yong-Un (1879-1944) [Korea] 17 Ferryboat and Traveler; On Tagore's “The Gardener" Lu Xun (Lu Hsun, 1881-1944) [China] 19 My Old Home Tanizaki Junichiro (1886-1972) [Japan] 28 The Tattooer Akutagawa Ryunosuke (1892-1927) [Japan] 35 In a Grove Mao Zhedong (Mao Tse Tung, 1893-1976) [China] 43 Swimming Mao Dun (Mao Tun, 1896-1982) [China] 45 Spring Silkworms Kawabata Yasunari (1899-1972) [Japan] 65 The Silver Fifty-Sen Pieces Kim Sowol (1902-1934) [Korea] 70 The Road Ding Ling (1904-1986) [China] 71 A Certain Night Enchi Fumiko (1905-1986) [Japan] 76 Boxcar of Chrysanthemums Hirabayashi Taiko (1905-1972) [Japan] 90 A Man's Life Kato Shuson (b. 1905) [Japan] 103 Three Modern Haiku Yi Sang (1910-1937) [Korea] 105 Wings Xiao Hong (Hsiao Hung, 1911-1942) [China] 119 The Crossroads Hwang Sun-Won (b. 1915) [Korea] 124 Cranes So Chong-Ju (b. 1915) [Korea] 129 The Huge Wave Chi' Chun (b. 1918) [Taiwan] 130 The Chignon Abe Kobo (b. 1924) [Japan] 135 The Red Cocoon Mishima Yukio (1925-1970) [Japan] 139 The Damask Drum Kim Namjo (b. 1927) [Korea] 156 Having Come to the Mountain Ariyoshi Sawako (1931-1984) [Japan] 157 Tomoshibi Ko Un (b. 1933) [Korea] 171 Lee Chongnam Tomioka Taeko (b.1935) [Japan] 173 Just the Two of Us Bai Xian-Yong (Pai Hsien- yung, b. 1937) [Taiwan] 175 A Sea of Blood-Red Azaleas Jia-Lin Peng (b. 1948) [China] 185 What's in a Name Bei Dao (b. 1949) [China] 185 Electric Shock; Language Part 2: South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand 195 Introduction Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) [India] 207 Chandalika; Where the Mind is Without Fear Ho Chi Minh (1890- 1969) [Vietnam] 217 Noon; Transferred to Nanning R. K. Narayan (b. 1909) [India] 219 Trail of the Green Blazer Raja Rao (b. 1909) [India] 224 Companions Faiz Ahmed Faiz (1910-1984) [Pakistan] 231 Ghazal Umashankar Joshi (1911-1988) [India] 233 the Universal Man Bienvenido N. Santos (b. 1911) [Philippines] 245 Footnote to a Laundry List Amador Daguio (b. 1912) [Philippines] 245 Wedding Dance Saadat Hasan Manto (1912-1955) [Pakistan] 252 The Dog of Titwal Amrita Pritam (b. 1919) [India] 257 The Weed Oodjeroo Noonuccal (b. 1920) [Australia] 263 Municipal Guam Mochtar Lubis (b. 1922) [Indonesia] 264 Harimau! Nissim Ezekiel (b. 1924) [India] 277 The Night of the Scorpion Pramoedya Toer (b. 1925) [Indonesia] 279 Inem Mahasweta Devi (b. 1926) [India] 290 Dhowli Thich Nhat Hanh (b. 1926) [Vietnam] 312 The Pine Gate Jayanta Mahapatra (b. 1928) [India] 320 30 January 1982: A Story (Poem) Hyllus Maris (b. 195?) [Australia] 322 Spiritual Song of the Aborigine Abdullah Hussain (b. 1931) [Pakistan] 323 The Tale of the Old Fisherman Tan Kong Peng (b. 1932) [Singapore/Malaya] 331 A Jungle Passage Ranjini Obeyesekere (b. 1933) [Sri Lanka] 337 Despair Edwin Thumboo (b. 1933) [Singapore/Malaya] 341 Christman Week 1975 Kevin Gilbert, Wiradjuri (b. 1933) [Australia] 343 Kiacatoo Kamala Das (b. 1934) [India] 345 An Introduction Anita Desai (b. 1937) [India] 348 A Devoted Son Patricia Grace (b. 1937) [New Zealand] 356 It Use to Be Green Once Khalida Asghar (b. 1938) [Pakistan] 361 The Wagon Shashi Deshpande (b. 1938) [India] 371 My Beloved Charioteer Mudrooroo Nyoongah (Colin Johnson, b. 1938) [Australia] 378 Poem Two Catherine Lim (b. 1942) [Singapore/Malaya] 380 Ah Bah's Money Witi Ihimaera (b. 1944) [New Zealand] 384 Yellow Brick Road Salman Rushdie (b. 1947) [India] 390 An Iff and a Butt Sally Morgan (b. 195?) [Sri Lanka] 391 Arthur Corunna's Story M. A. Nuhman (b. 195?) [Sri Lanka] 400 Murder (Poem) Part 3. The Middle East 417 Introduction Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) [Lebanon] 422 On Children Nazim Hikmet (1902-1963) [Turkey] 423 12 December 1945 Sadiq Hidayat (1903-1951) [Iran] 425 Seeking Absolution Ya'akob Yehoshua (b. 1905) [Israel] 433 Childhood in On Jerusalem Fadwa Tuqan (b. 1917) [Palestine] 435 Song of Becoming Simin Danishvar (b. 1921) [Iran] 437 The Half-Closed Eye Etel Adnan (b. 1925) [Lebanon] 459 In the Heart of the Heart of Another Country Ahmad Shamlu (b. 1925) [Iran] 457 The Gap Abdall ah al-Baraduni (b. 1929) [Yemen] 458 Answers to the One Question Shimon Ballas (b. 1930) [Israel] 459 Imaginary Childhood Mohammed Khudayyir (b. 193?) [Iraq] 466 Clocks Like Horses Foarugh Farrokhzad (1935-1967) [Iran] 476 The Wind-up Doll Ghassan Kanafani (1936-1972) [Palestine] 479 The Slave Fort Hushang Golshiri (b. 1937) [Iran] 483 The Wolf Abd al-Aziz al-Maqalih (b. 1939) [Yemen] 490 Sanaa is Hungry Muhammed Abd al-Wali (1940-1973) [Yemen] 491 Abu Rubbiya Saeed Aulaqi (b. 1940) [Yemen] 496 The Succession Mahmoud Darwish (b. 1942) [Palestine] 503 Guests on the Sea Erez Bitton (b. 1949) [Israel] 506 Something on Madness Fawziyya Abu Khalid (b. 1955) [Saudi Arabia] 508 A Pearl Shelley Elkayam (b. 1956) [Israel] 509 The Crusader Man Abd al-Hameed Ahmad (b. 1957) [United Arab Emirates] 510 Khlalah SEL Part 4: Africa 521 Introduction Jomo Kenyatta (1891-1978) [Kenya] 526 Gentlemen of the Jungle Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo (1901- 1937 [Madagascar] 529 Flute Players Yahya Haqqi (b. 1905) [Egypt] 531 The Tavern Keeper Leopold Sedar Senghor (b. 1906) [Senegal] 534 Prayer to Masks Naguib Mahfouz (b. 1911) [Egypt] 536 Half-a-Day Es'Kia Mphahlele (b. 1919) [South Africa] 539 Interlude Amos Tutuola (b. 1920) [Nigeria] 545 The Gentlemen of Complete Parts Gabriel Okara (b. 1921) [Nigeria] 553 You Laughed and Laughed and Laughed Augustinho Neto (1922-1979) [Angola] 555 Kinaxixi Nadine Gordimer (b. 1923) [South Africa] 557 Good Climate, Friendly Inhabitants Christopher Okigbo (1923-1967) [Nigeria] 568 Come Thunder Sembene Ousmane (b. 1923) [Senegal] 569 March of the Women Dennis Brutus (b. 1924) [South Africa] 582 Nightsong: City Camara Laye (1924-1980) [Guinea] 584 The Goldsmith Efua Sutherland (b. 1924) [Ghana] 589 New Life at Kyerefaso Can Themba (b. 1924-1968) [South Africa] 595 The Suit Noemia de Sousa (b. 1927) [Mozambique] 604 If You Want to Know Me David Diop (b. 1927) [Senegal] 606 The Vultures Yusuf Idris (b. 1927) [Egypt] 607 The Chair Carrier Chinua Achebe (b. 1930) [Nigeria] 612 The Madman R. Sarif Easmon (b. 1930) [Sierra Leone] 619 Bindeh's Gift Grace Ogot (b. 1930) [Kenya] 628 The Rain Came Nawal El Saadawi (b. 1931) [Egypt] 637 She Has No Place in Paradise Flora Nwapa (1931-1993) [Nigeria] 643 The Chief's Daughter Tchiokaya UTam'si (1931-1988) [Congo] 651 Brush-fire Athol Fugard (b. 1932), John Kani (b. 1943), and Winston Ntshona (b. 1942?) [South Africa] 653 The Island Okot p'Bitek (1932-1982) [Uganda] 679 Song of Lawino Lenrie Peters (b. 1932) [Gambia] 695 Isatou Died Kofi Awoonor (b. 1935) [Ghana] 696 The Weaver Bird J. P. Clarke Bekederemo (b. 1935) [Nigeria] 698 The Leader Wole Soyinka (b. 1935) [Nigeria] 699 The Strong Breed Costa Andrade (b. 1936) [Angola] 729 Fourth Poem of the Canto of Accusation Assia Djebar (b. 1936) [Algieria] 730 There is No Exile Bessie Head (1937- 1988) [South Africa] 740 The Collector of Treasures Keorapetse Kgositsile (b. 1938) [South Africa] 757 The Air I Hear Ngugi Wa Thiong'o (b. 1938) [Kenya] 758 Wedding at the Cross Ayi Kwei Armah (b. 1939) [Ghana] 770 Halfway to Nirvana Molara Ogundipe- Leslie (b. 1940) [Nigeria] 775 Song at the African Middle Class Ama Ata Aidoo (b. 1942) [Ghana] 777 In the Cutting of a Drink Syl Cheney Coker (b. 1945) [Sierra Leone] 783 The Philosopher Jack Mapanje (b. 1945) [Malawi] 785 On African Writing Charles Mungoshi (b. 1947) [Zimbabwe] 786 Shadows on the Wall Zoe Wicomb (b. 1948 [South Africa] 791 You Can't Get Lost in Cape Town Part 5. Latin America and The Caribbean 807 Introduction Antonio Gonzalez Bravo (1885-1962) [Bolivia] 816 Kori Pilpintu Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957) [Chile] 817 Song Claude McKay (1890-1948) [Jamaica] 819 Crazy Mary Cesar Vallejo (1892-1938) [Peru] 825 The Eternal Dice Jesus Lara (1898-1980) [Bolivia] 827 Incallajta Jarahui Miguel Angel Asturias (1899-1974) [Guatemala] 828 Legend of “El Cadejo 170 Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1980) [Argentina] 833 The Gospel According to Mark Carlos Drummond De Andrade (1902- 1967) [Brazil] 839 An Ox Looks at Man Nicolas Guillen (b. 1902) [Cuba] 840 Arrival Silvina Ocampo (b. 1903) [Argentina] 842 The Servants' Slaves Alejo Carpentier (1904-1980) [Cuba] 849 Like the Night Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) [Chile] 860 The heights of Macchu Picchu III; The Chilean Forest Jacques Roumain (1907-1944) [Haiti] 870 Delira Deliverance Joao Guimaraes Rosa (1908-1967) [Brazil] 878 The Third Bank of the River Juan Bosch (b. 1909) [Dominican Republic] 883 The Beautiful Soul of Don Damian Juan Carlos Onetti (b. 1909) [Uruguay] 890 A Dream Come True Maria Luisa Bombal (1910?-1980) [Chile] 901 Sky, Sea, and Earth Rachel de Queiroz (b. 1910) [Brazil] 905 The Tangerine Girl Jorge Amado (b. 1912) [Brazil] 910 Of Dice and Unshakable Principles Leon Damas (1912-1978) [French Guiana] 915 Poems Walter Montenegro (1912-1991) [Bolivia] 917 El Pepino Aime Cesaire (b. 1913) [Matinique] 924 To Africa Julio Cortazar (1914-1984) [Argentina] 927 Our Demeanor at Wakes Julia de Burgos (1914-1958) [Puerto Rico] 931 To Julia de Burgos Octavio Paz (b. 1914) [Mexico] 934 Return Joseph Zobel (b. 1915) [Martinique] 937 Mr. Medouze Murilo Rubiao (b. 1916) [Brazil] 942 Taleco, The Rabbit Juan Rulfo (1918-1986) [Mexico] 949 Tell Them Not to Kill Me Wilson Harris (b. 1921) [Guyana] 955 Yurokon Rubem Fonseca (b. 1922) [Brazil] 967 Night Drive Jose Donoso (b. 1924) [Chile] 969 Paseo Lygia Fagundes Telles (b. 1924) [Brazil] 983 The Ants Ernesto Cardenal (b. 1925) [Nicaragua] 990 The Filibusters Rosario Castellanos (1925-1978) [Mexico] 992 Daily Round of the Spinster Martin Carter (b. 1927) [Guyana] 994 Listening to the Land Carlos Fuentes (b. 1928) [Mexico] 995 Chac-Mool Gabriel Garcia Marquez (b. 1928) [Colombia] 1004 The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World Derek Walcott (b. 1930) [Saint Lucia] 1009 I Once Gave My Daughters...; The Season of Phantasmal Peace V.S. Naipaul (b. 1932) [Trinidad] 1012 My Aunt Gold Teeth Manuel Puig (1932-1990) [Argentina] 1020 Kiss of the Spider Woman Austin Clarke (b. 1934) [Barbados] 1060 Leaving This Island Place Earl Lovelace (b. 1935) [Trinidad] 1067 The Fire Eater's Journey Mario Vargas Llosa (b. 1936) [Peru] 1077 A Shadow of Gnats Maryse Conde (b. 1935) [Guadaloupe] 1087 Mira Nelida Pinon (b. 1937) [Brazil] 1097 Brief Flower Simone Swarz-Bart (b. 1937) [Guadaloupe] 1103 Toussine Olive Senior (b. 1941) [Jamaica] 1114 Do Angels Wear Brassieres? Cesar Verduguez (b. 1941) [Bolivia] 1124 The Scream in Your Silence Isabel Allende (b. 1942) [Chile] 1135 Our Secret Antonio Cisneros (b. 1942) [Peru] 1139 After the Battle of Ayacucho: A Mother's Testimony Rosario Ferre (b. 1942). [Puerto Rico] 1141 The Youngest Doll Ana Lydia Vega (b. 1946) [Puerto Rico] 1146 ADJ Inc. Rigoberta Menchu (b. 1951) [Guatemala] 1155 The Death of Dona Petrona Chona Opal Palmer Adisa (b. 1954) [Jamaica] 1159 Duppy Get Her Appendix 1: Bibliography of Additional Primary and Secondary Reading Alternate Thematic Table of Contents Alternate Table of Contents by Genre Index by Author, Title, and First Line of Poems