What the Sky Arranges, by Andrew Fitzsimons.
Isobar Press, Poetry.
"What The Sky Arranges," the newest work from poet and translator Andrew Fitzsimons is both a homage to and a refreshing refiguring of "Tsurezuregusa (Essays in Idleness)" by the eccentric monk Yoshida Kenko (circa 1283 — 1350). These spry glints of wisdom include the imperious practicality of "More Advice" ("Have nothing to leave when you die/ .... Better to pass and have not left a trace") and the quiet beauty of "The Heart" ("The heart exhales mountains and lakes, / birds and fish" ). Witty and deceptively simple, the 30 poems here softy insist on lengthy contemplation and are illustrated by nine drawings from Italian artist Sergio Maria Calatroni making this a beautiful collection of finely wrought word-jewels.
