Chronicle of Drifting

Chronicle of Driftingenacts a restless quest for belonging, interweaving dreamlike imagery and Japanese lyricism

Yuki Tanaka's stunning debut, Chronicle of Drifting, explores rootlessness, its beauty and perils. Tanaka's restless imagination roams among places and personae-a village mermaid, a geisha in the Midwest, a flneur in Tokyo-searching for a permanent self and a sense of community. In the feverish world of these poems, inspired by the Japanese tradition of tanka and haiku, as well as by timeless surrealism, one meets a light-lashed horse, an imaginary chauffeur, an out-of-business psychic, a girl who skewers a fish with a flower stalk. In poems ranging from lyric to prose, Tanaka creates a poignant dreamlike realm where the inner and outer worlds, the self and others, merge-like the train passenger who, looking out the window and seeing the sky through his reflection, feels "empty, a blue outline."

Praise for Chronicle of Drifting

“Yuki Tanaka’s invitation into his head is a mind-blowing adventure, like a seeing the world through Lewis Carroll’s looking-glass.”—London Grip

“Tanaka’s singular view, somewhat detached yet not lacking in compassion, soberly reckoning while allowing for flights of optimism, is, again, the product of the angle of vision of the flaneur, the stranger in town, the person who has seen it all but decides not to linger on individual premises too long. . . . This discreet version of the 'I' as a drifting, neutral observer in the war zone that is life—not Tanaka’s only attitude, but a prevalent one—offers a valuable refinement of the poetic speaker, less self-centered, at most a participant-observer. Of his many gifts in this sterling debut collection, Tanaka’s discreet and subtle management of tone sits uppermost. In offering it consistently, he invites us, too, whether casual reader or professional poet, to commit to our own drifting, which just might, if carefully husbanded, lead to our own chronicle.”—Johnny Payne, Merion West

Praise for Yuki Tanaka

“In Yuki Tanaka’s [chapbook] Séance in Daylight, the poems are streaming with light. Emotions usually obscured in the darkness of loneliness and longing are illuminated, made visible. These poems remind us, the world breaks again and again, but it does not end.”—Natalie Diaz

“Séance in Daylight is about desire, transformation, and dreams; it is also about intricate, yet light-footed sessions with the dead. The ever-present undertow of the poet’s sharp observations keeps these lush, yet lapidary lyrics from slipping into solipsism or sentimentality. These poems remind us that at times, life’s very existence feels unbearably inexplicable, beautiful, perverse, moody, and touching. Yuki Tanaka connects these feelings with a spiritual intensity and a sweet wit.”—Sandra Lim

“At once full of light and darkness, the poems in this short book cover a plethora of topics. . . . Tanaka’s voice and the combination between light and dark gives the collection a sense of cohesion.”—PANK Magazine

Yuki Tanaka was born and raised on a smallisland in Yamaguchi, Japan. His poems have appeared inThe Nation, TheNew Republic, The Paris Review, Poetry, He has cotranslated,with Mary Jo Bang,A Kiss for the Absolute: Selected Poems of ShuzoTakiguchi,published by Princeton University Press. He lives in Tokyoand teaches at Hosei University.

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