Böcker av Martin Willitts

The thirty-six woodblock prints that were the inspiration for this collection of writings were made by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). The pieces show different views of Mount Fuji from various waystations where people would go to look at the beautiful mountain. The writings in this book are haibun, a literary form originating in Japan that combines prose-autobiography, diary entries, essay, or short story-and poetry-often haiku. Hokusai was in his seventies when he produced the Mount Fuji series; the author, Martin Willitts Jr., was seventy years old when he began studying the prints, attempting to merge himself with Hokusai.

Animals, birds, nature, love and the human essence interfacing with it and each other. A fine read by a very established writer. This book is divided into four sections all of which are filled with a rich tapestry of words carefully woven into heart matter by the author.

Viewing nature as a spiritual discipline requires focus, quiet intention, listening for the smallest noises, and watching how change happens. Let these poems guide you as you enter the world. Let them slow you down and focus your attention.

With the attention of a field botanist, Ethereal Flowers explores healing plants, plants in mythology, plants that inspired van Gogh paintings, plants that are poisonous, and plants discovered by Lewis and Clark. By honoring plants and trees, we honor the source of life, and we acknowledge that we are mutually connected, that the survival of one impacts the other. Poet Martin Willitts Jr. gets on his hands and knees to notice the detail of petals, pistils, leaf formation, lateral and bilateral stems, the smell of earth, the bees shuttling in the garden, unearthing a deeper meaning to plants, while planting them firmly in imagination.

"Not Only the Extraordinary are Entering the Dream World" has such temporary beauty, that if you blink, you might miss the brief moment. You find yourself speechless. You wonder if you are in a dream world or if you imagined the moment. These poems want you to notice the world, whether it is camping in parks or climbing mountains ("the dizzy tightness of the heart"), or white-water rapids. This world is at risk with climate change with heat extremes, water levels lowering, hurricanes, de-forestation, how we are interconnected like the silk worms to the survival of certain trees. Also, love is fragile and can be at risk. We can discover different ways to see love in these poems, often centered in nature. "Centeredness" and "meditative" are good adjectives for these poems. Each poem toward the end become quieter and quieter, until the last poem which takes the reader out of this world into another reality, "all love reaches a certain velocity."