Both poets in these books are known by their given name and both have been translated into English (and other languages) before, although the contents given here are new. Both books are bilingual and have blue covers that seem to contemplate the reader: One carries a picture of the poet and the other, a colored drawing of a single eye. The mood in each case is somewhat blue as well.
The portrait of Nakahara Chuya (1907-37) that gazes mournfully from this new volume of his poetry is a familiar one: It shows him at the age of 18, wearing a hat.
"Poems of Days Past" is a translation of his second collection of poems, which was published posthumously just before World War II. Much admired in literary circles during his lifetime, Chuya did not become popular until the war had ended. Nowadays he is very widely read, especially by younger people.