Kokoro: A Japanese word whose closest translation could be one’s “soul heart.” It literary means heart; however it is not a physical embodiment, but it is also separate from the soul.  It is a concept difficult to explain to someone who isn’t Japanese, and thus “soul heart” is the best explanation we have.

Kokoro also happens to be the title of the late Natsume Soseki’s award winning novel. Regarded as the father of modern literature in Japan, Soseki wrote many great novels during his lifetime; Kokoro however is the most famous.  Whereas in America we study J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in The Rye and John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men the Japanese study Kokoro.  It is practically mandatory reading across Japan, and for good reason.

The novel follows an unnamed narrator through his life after he encounters “Sensei” who will become his good friend.  Sensei is an older man, having retired and now living a life of leisure. However, he carries with him a deep secret that haunts him day in and day out.  In his novel, Soseki tackles the innermost components of the Japanese psyche in true modern style. The novel is set at the end of the Meiji era. The Meiji is known as a revolutionary time for Japan. Suddenly the country has opened its doors to the world and quickly is embracing modernization and westernization. For many, this comes as a shock, especially those living a traditional life in the country side. Soseki manages to captures both ideologies in his novel.

This is a novel that everyone should be reading, but many people haven’t.  This is especially a novel for the college student, as the unnamed narrator struggles with wanting to live a life like “Sensei”, without having to put the work in. There is much discussion about the value of education and a college degree, as well as the changing economy of Japan. These two themes alone echo much of what is happening in the United States at the moment.  Lastly, with Japan in the spotlight regarding the recent national disaster of March 11^th, everyone owes it to themselves to learn a little bit about Japanese culture. There is no better novel to read than Natsume Soseki’s Kokoro if you really wish to understand what it means to be Japanese during a time of great national change.

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Christos Tsiolkas’ The Slap is an Australian take on prissy parents and bratty kids. It revolves around a man slapping another couple’s child, and the reverberations and conflicts that follow. It takes place in an upper-middle class Australian neighborhood, where the parents have strong beliefs, and, of course, their own boatloads of personal anxiety and conflict.  (more…)

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I consider myself a “book person.” I love everything about books, the look, the feel, even the smell. So, when ebooks first arrived on the seen I laughed. When they were predicted to be the next big thing, I scoffed. However, when ebook readers started to be born, I became a little more interested. I played with a few ereaders at stores like Target and Bestbuy, but I hated the idea of reading on something that looked like a computer screen. Then, Staples started to carry the Kindle and I started to consider purchasing an ereader of my very own. The great thing about the Kindle was that the screen actually looks like the page of a book, thanks to some pretty awesome technology known as “e-ink,” which basically looks and acts like real ink and gives the Kindle’s screen its ink-like appearance. I also really liked that the screen wasn’t backlit, so it didn’t have any glare and was a little easier on my eyes than a computer screen. Needless to say, I decided to become a traitor to the physical books I knew and loved and purchased a Kindle.

The awesome thing about the Kindle is the convenience behind its design. It easily fits into my purse and can hold over 1500 books. I can also download the Kindle application onto any device and read any of the books I’ve purchased. Plus, whatever version of the Kindle or it’s applications I’m using bookmarks the page I’m on and updates my other devices. It’s also really useful to be able to search whatever I’m reading for a word or phrase, especially when writing papers. Last but not least, many of the classics are available for download online for free!

Although I was originally frightened that ebooks would be the downfall of traditional books, I no longer feel that this is the case. I actually think that ebooks can benefit publications such as magazines, newspapers and literary magazines. Subscriptions to these publications are often offered at a discounted rate and are available on the user’s device as soon as they are published. Instead of dying out, these forms of writing may now have a second chance in ebook form.

Even though I love my Kindle, I’m still an avid reader and lover of physical books. I’ve even purchased a couple books in ebook and physical form. However, physical books will always feel better in my hands, no matter how convenient ebooks may be. There’s just something comforting about having a book in your hands and being able to flip through it’s pages.

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One of the most interesting moment of high school for me was when this duo called Poetry in Motion visited us during one of our weekly assemblies. They were a welcome break from the bombardment of Ivy League vocal groups the school kept pouring in. You can only take so much of “Walking in Memphis” and “Season of Love” sung by groups who believe they’re the first to perform those songs.  

But to be honest about what me and my peers were thinking at that time, we didn’t really give Poetry in Motion much of a chance. They were introduced, and out came a woman in about her twenties, and an older man of about sixty with hair like Larry from the Three Stooges. That right there garnered some initial chuckles from the teenage crowd. The chuckles only continued as the odd couple started their first stanza. They were moving their arms with the words; flailing them above their head, thrusting them out in front of their bodies. It was all very exaggerated. But not nearly as much as the words coming out of their mouth. Every other word seemed to be yelled at us. And for no apparent reason according to our young and, admittedly, ignorant minds.

However, and to our collective surprise, are chuckles and snide remarks turned into silence and deep attention. Poetry in Motion had managed, against all odds, to grasp and enthrall a group of young adults in an art form that most of us didn’t believe existed, including myself. We all started to realize that this show wasn’t two crazy people jumping around all over the stage. They were telling, no showing us a story through their movement. They were making us laugh (with them, not at them). They had managed to combine the talents of actors, dancers, singers, and orators to create an extraordinary piece of entertainment.

From that day forward, I learned of the vastness of poetry as an art form and how it can be found in a multitude of places that no one would think to look. Its inspiration comes in many shapes and sizes, and it is, subsequently, expressed in an unending list of ways; all of which are, dare I say it, cool. It is in that way that poetry is truly the genre of the people. Poetry houses not only the ones who feel the need to get up on a stage and run around while reciting stanzas, but the ones who prefer to keep their work to themselves or a select few. It house the poets who like reading aloud to an audience, as well as the ones who love adding music and turning it into song.

I guess, looking back, that Poetry in Motion provided me and my colleagues with more than a short term respite from vocal groups. It provided me with some long term wisdom and knowledge and expanded my horizons as a writer.

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