When I Find You Again, It Will Be in Mountains

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Summary: Recommended for students of Buddhist history
Review: Chia Tao (779-843 AD) was a Zen monk who became a poet during China's T'ang Dynasty. His poetry recorded the lives of the sages, masters, immortals, and hermits who were responsible for establishing the great spiritual tradition of Zen Buddhism in China. Poet and translator Mike O'Connor does a superb job of presenting the poetry of Chia Tao in a bilingual format to a western readership. When I Find You Again, It Will Be In Mountains!: Selected Poems Of Chia Tao is enthusiastically recommended for students of Buddhist history, philosophy, and literature. Ferrying Across The Dry Mulberry River: A newcomer to P'ing-chou,/he stayed there ten years;/day and night/missing his old home, Ch'ang-an.//Then, inexplicably,/he went farther, across the Dry Mulberry;/only to look back on P'ing-chou/as home.

Rating:
Summary: A Difinitive Work
Review: Mike O'Connor's translation of Chia Tao's works will satisfy the poet, translator and scholar alike as he weaves poetry, scholorship and translation into a tapestry of sublime beauty. The elegant poetry is filled with naturalistic imagery and delicate emotions... a journey in time and mind. O'Connor's instructive introduction sheds light not only on Chia Tao but a panalopy of Poet's and Hermits of the T'ang dynasty; unveiling the spiritual fabric of the mountain society.

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Summary: A Quiet Voice from the T'ang
Review: This is a luminous book. Mike O'Connor's translations of the T'ang Dynasty poet Chia Tao bring his poems fully into the best English. I read the three sections of this as they originally appeared from the Tangram press, and didn't think they could be improved, but they have been---and O'Connor has given just enough scholarly "apparatus" to help the reader without overwhelming. The Chinese texts are given unobtrusively along with the English. The poems speak quietly of visits with mountain hermits, meetings and partings, travel before dawn, the slow turn of seasons. I keep giving this book away to friends who should know Chia Tao---and O'Connor's fine work.