Slow Motion : The Log of a Chesapeake Bay Skipjack by M. Kei Published by Modern English Tanka Press

“Slow Motion: The Log of a Chesapeake Bay Skipjack” by M. Kei is a break-through collection of waterman poetry from the Chesapeake Bay by a poet who actually knows what he is talking about. M. Kei crews on the title boat, the Skipjack Martha Lewis. Kirsty Karkow, prize-winning poet and author of “water poems” and “shorelines,” says: “A Skipjack is a historic vessel where form follows function with a rough beauty. These characteristics are apparent in the sensitive, poetic voyages of an aging boat and the men who work her sails. This history and trip log is sure to delight any sailor or lover of the Chesapeake Bay . . . and of poetry.”

Baltimore, Maryland–May 27, 2008–Slow Motion : The Log of a Chesapeake Bay Skipjack by M. Kei has been published in trade paperback by Modern English Tanka Press, Baltimore, Maryland. This break-through collection of waterman poetry from the Chesapeake Bay, by a poet who actually knows what he is talking about, is sure to delight any sailor or lover of the Chesapeake Bay and of poetry. The poet M. Kei crews on the title boat, the Skipjack Martha Lewis, out of Havre de Grace, Maryland. The short lyric forms used in Slow Motion are perfect vehicles for the laconic voice of the waterman. Kei has captured a bit of Chesapeake magic in a bottle and all who love the Bay, boating, and poetry, are a little richer for it.

"Kei, in his Slow Motion: The Log of a Chesapeake Bay Skipjack, has made these poems on the Chesapeake Bay with its sailboats and workmen and beauty into a tour de force. Having read hundreds and hundreds of modern haiku, I find that Kei's, along with his many tanka, communicate his joy in the beauty of sky and wave and sea and work. There is a sustaining harmony in the collection, at times earthy, at times transcendental, at times Whitmanesque. In this journey of log poetry, along with commentary and notes, Kei has extended the range of our poetic world." –Sanford Goldstein, co-translator of Midaregami, Tangled Hair

About Author:

M. Kei crews aboard a skipjack, a traditional wooden sailboat used to fish for oysters in the Chesapeake Bay. He is the author of Heron Sea, Short Poems of the Chesapeake Bay, and the editor of the critically acclaimed anthology, Fire Pearls: Short Masterpieces of the Human Heart. Kei edits the biannual tanka journal, Atlas Poetica, which is dedicated to poetry of place. His latest project is Take Five : Best Contemporary Tanka of 2008, of which he serves as founder and editor-in-chief. He has published more than 800 poems and scholarly articles in five languages and ten countries. He also compiles the Bibliography of English-Language Tanka.

For media inquiries or to arrange an interview with the author, contact: M. Kei by e-mail at kujaku (at) verizon (dot) net. Publisher information at: www.modernenglishtankapress.com.

This book is available from www.Lulu.com/modernenglishtanka and from major booksellers; or by order from the publisher. Complete information and mail order form are available online at www.modernenglishtankapress.com. Price: $16.95 USD. ISBN 978-0-6152-1265-4. Trade paperback. 164 pages, 6.00" x 9.00", perfect binding, 60# cream interior paper, black and white interior ink, 100# exterior paper, full-color exterior ink.

About Modern English Tanka Press:

Modern English Tanka Press is an independent equity publishing house in Baltimore, Maryland, dedicated to producing books and periodicals of lasting literary value. A family business, we treat our customers and partners in publishing like family. Our publications are produced using modern print-on-demand production and distribution methods. We publish tanka, haiku, and other fine poetry. Our special mission is to promote the tanka form of poetry, to educate newcomers to tanka about this most ancient poetic form, and to work for wider publication of tanka in both specialty and mainstream poetry venues. To those ends, we publish the journals “Modern English Tanka,” “Atlas Poetica,” “Modern Haiga,” and special edition books of tanka, haiku, and other fine verse. We operate www.TankaCentral.com, the internet megasite for tanka, with its popular “Tanka News” blog, and the poetry web hub, www.ShortVerse.com.

Contact:

Denis M. Garrison, owner
Modern English Tanka Press
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