A Kiss for the Absolute

“A Kiss for the Absolute isn’t only an important cultural project; it is vivid, ambitious work… . A book to remind us about the potential of poetry.”—Fiona Sampson, Guardian“A Kiss for the Absolute introduces Shuzo Takiguchi’s surreal, mythical world to English readers, inviting them into a poetic landscape where Japanese culture and French surrealism meet in a celebration of beauty, desire, and wonder. This collection is more than an introduction to Takiguchi’s poetry; it’s an invitation into a cultural and linguistic dialogue that feels deeply mysterious and illuminating.”—Georgia McInnes, The Indiependent“Bang and Tanaka’s skillful, colloquial translations offer English readers a long-overdue introduction to this important poet.” * Seminary Co-Op *“The poems in A Kiss for the Absolute … are of a distinctly joyous, cheeky surrealism… . This splendidly resonating collection… . will make you wonder how you’ve been living all this time, and how you might now carry yourself with more rapture, more mystery, and more attention fit for the dizzying world we inhabit.”—Turi Sioson, Only Poems“Meticulously harvested from a cache comprising a ten-year period of intense literary composition from 1927-1937, this edition of thirty-five poems gives needed shape to Takiguchi’s wide-ranging legacy as an eclectic visionary—critic, translator, poet, artist, collector, curator.”—Michael Londra, Asian Review of Books”[An] exciting new translation of Takiguchi’s work.”—Leanne Ogasawara, 3 Quarks Daily

Mary Jo Bang is the author of nine books of poems, including A Film in Which I Play Everyone and Elegy, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award. She has published translations of Dante and Matthias Gritz and is a professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis.

Yuki Tanaka was born and raised in Japan and teaches at Hosei University in Tokyo. His debut poetry collection, Chronicle of Drifting, is forthcoming from Copper Canyon Press. He received an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin and a PhD in English from Washington University in St. Louis.