For Japan’s star poet Tanikawa, it’s fun, not work, at 90

By YURI KAGEYAMA
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Shuntaro Tanikawa used to think poems descended like an inspiration from the heavens. At 90, he sees poems as welling up from the ground. He told The Associated Press poetry has finally become fun, not the commissioned work it used to be. Tanikawa is among Japan’s most famous modern poets, a master of free verse on the everyday. He has published more than a hundred poetry books. With titles like “To Live,” “Listen” and “Grass,” his poems are stark, rhythmical but conversational. He is most proud of his playful poems that celebrate the beauty of the Japanese language.