Looking for Hickories: The Forgotten Wildness of the Rural Midwest - Softcover

Springer, Thomas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0472050230 ISBN 13: 9780472050239

Publisher: University of Michigan Press, 2008

Synopsis

Kafū the Scribbler is neither pure biography nor pure criticism nor yet a pure anthology, but a blending of the three. It is an introduction to Nagai Kafū and his city, accompanied by a fairly generous sampling from his works. Marleigh Ryan writes: “In this book Edward Seidensticker presents a unique combination of biography and literary criticism by skillfully interweaving details of the life of Nagai Kafū with studies of his writing. With quotations of from Kafū’s fiction and nonfiction alike, Seidensticker is able to reconstruct many incidents in the author’s life which had previously been little understood. The latter half of the book is given over to translations of short stories and to selections from two novels and a journal. Seidensticker has thoughtfully given cross references to the material in both parts of the book which enable the reader to handle this wealth of material with some dexterity. “Seidensticker’s skill as a translator is so well established that it seems almost unnecessary to comment on it further here but one cannot help being impressed by his rendering of Kafū’s lyrical style. As we realize when reading the critical material, there is remarkably little plot or character development in Kafū’s fiction. His position as leading modern writer is dependent to a considerable degree upon the beauty and grace of his style, and we are fortunate indeed to have such masterful translations as these to convey that style.”* *Ryan, Marleigh. Journal of the American Oriental Society 88, no. 3 (1968): 624. doi:10.2307/596924.

About this title

About the Author

Tom Springer is a senior editor at the W. K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan. For the foundation, he wrote the books Blessed with Children and How to Unravel Science Mysteries for Young Minds without Unraveling. He has also written about nature and outdoor travel for newspapers and magazines such as Backpacker, Michigan Out-of-Doors, and Notre Dame, and his nature-themed commentaries have aired on several National Public Radio programs. Springer holds a master's degree in environmental journalism from Michigan State University. He lives near Three Rivers, Michigan.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Michigan Press
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0472050230
• ISBN 13: 9780472050239
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 168