NOON: journal of the short poem
Issue Three, Spring 2006
Philip Rowland, Ed., Pub.
Noon Press (Tokyo, Japan).
77 pages, Japanese stab-bound;
ISSN 1349-6972
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A physically beautiful production always, Noon is a delight to hold in the hands. The gray and cream washi papers truly make this book a treat to linger over–which is exactly the strategy of the editor: Philip Rowland asks that extra time be spent over these short-short poems and sequences so that subtleties of nuance can be teased out. Noon Three doesn’t disappoint: among the many well-known names Thomas A. Clark, Carlos Louis, Theodore Enslin, and Alan Halsey give us memorable pieces. The Yin/Yang award for most natural crazy-cloud writing goes to Edward Baker–

moths
just
beyond
glass

splattering
on

and:

far beyond frog moon leaps

I really like that last line! Alistair Noon`s translation of Li Bai’s “Thoughts on a quiet night”–

Bright moonlight in front of a bed–
at a guess, just frost on the ground.
A raised head gazes at the moon,
sinks, and thinks of home.

is just wrong, especially the last two lines, which make Li Bai`s lyricism sound more like Trakl’s. Still, it’s a bold rendering that gives me much to think about.

Philip Terry wins this issue’s cleverest concrete award with his palindromic “Abandoned Poem” as well as “The Bookworm`s Song.”

The issue tops out at 77 pages, so there’s plenty to discover for yourself. Highly recommended!