KJ Back Issues: 59

Cover photograph by Michael Wolf: "Architecture of Density"
Received first prize in World Press Photo Awards 2005 for his "Factories in China" series
www.photomichaelwolf.com

KJ #59 is an eclectic amalgam of counterpoint perspectives both on and from Asia. Juxtaposed within its pages are tight connections and raw edges, direct observation and deep re-envisioning by real-world photographers, seasoned haikuists and astute essayists, with titles including "Reporting Reality," "Revealing the Invisible," "Beyond East and West," and "A Journey to the Residual World."

Contrasts abound: from victims of war to hands in prayer to monumental prints of autumn leaves; Ground Zero Hiroshima to Year Zero Cambodia; Hong Kong's "architecture of density" and the "situatedness" of Zen psychology; the interpenetrating yin and yang of urban construction and rural destruction; outraged social criticism and indignant right-wing censorship.

Miro Phanruang's compelling accounts of life in Iran, Burma and Cambodia reveal human essentials too often obscured by political bluster. Hawaiian-based Frank Stewart and Pat Matsueda discuss their quiet yet impressively dedicated efforts to promote greater intercultural awareness in the West through Asia / Pacific Rim translations in Manoa. Poetry too is central to the responsive re-envisioning aspect of this issue – a 24-page section explores the evolution of haiku in English. And in our Encounters section, Philip Cunningham meets up with the indomitable – and non-English-speaking – grandmotherly spirit of Kyoto.

See full contents of #59 here