haiku

“Changes of Scale by which We Measure Ourselves Anew”: the Appeal of Tiny Objects and Compact Forms
|

“Changes of Scale by which We Measure Ourselves Anew”: the Appeal of Tiny Objects and Compact Forms

ByNancy McCabe

I’m drawn to tiny things. In the Matchstick Marvels museum in Gladbrook, IA, I was captivated by a model of Hogwarts, an elaborate many-towered and turreted castle made of more than 600,000 matchsticks. At Dinky’s Diner in Reeds Spring, MO, my family used to stop for miniature hot dogs, tacos, and chicken legs. In Cavendish,…

Pursuing Essence through Ambiguity: On Kawabata’s Palm-of-the-Hand Stories
|

Pursuing Essence through Ambiguity: On Kawabata’s Palm-of-the-Hand Stories

ByLara Palmquist

Among the known instances of writers reworking published material, Japanese author Yasunari Kawabata stands apart for his seemingly untenable decision to turn his acclaimed novel Snow Country (for which, along with Thousand Cranes and The Old Capital, he received the 1968 Nobel Prize) into an eleven-page story. Kawabata completed “Gleanings from Snow Country” just three…