Into the ancient pond / A frog jumps / Water’s sound! This haiku by Japanese poet Matsuo Bashô, is perhaps the most famous in all of Japan. Although this translation by Zen teacher D.T. Suzuki was not the first, Suzuki’s work in... Read More

You with your ‘rope in the ring,’ your ‘obelisk in the Coliseum,’ your ‘leek in the garden,’ your ‘key in the lock,’ your ‘bolt in the door,’ your ‘pestle in the mortar’ … why don’t you say yes when you mean... Read More

If you thought embroidery was just for hankies and little girls’ church shirts, you will quickly dispose of such nonsense when you peek into the colorful pages of Hoopla. Part how-to, part investigative exploration and all inspired,... Read More

There’s a German proverb that translates, you can’t turn a billy goat into a gardener. In English, we might say don’t trust the cat to watch the cream or don’t send the fox to guard the henhouse. But after spending some time in... Read More

How is the heart won? Laughter certainly loosens the bars; cleverness occupies the mind, leaves the creature unprotected. After that the heart is easily cleaved in two. Troy Jollimore sneaks up on you. You’ll think the clap upside the... Read More

Recollect 1960: a time when many artists were courting Eastern thought and deconstructing western literary formalism. Enter Margaret Avison, a poet’s poet, a metaphysical poet, perhaps an academic poet lauded for her sometimes... Read More

What does the average Westerner know of Chinese astrology? For most, the abbreviated version printed on the paper placemats of many Chinese restaurants is all the knowledge one can claim. What a shame, because the twelve animal signs of... Read More

“For all the romantic talk about the joys of ‘making something with your hands,’ building is done principally with the mind,” David Gerstel writes. In his fourth book, "Crafting the Considerate House", Gerstel takes the reader on... Read More