Three Demons by Sanki Saito and translated by Ryan Choi

This is poetry from Japan.

Three Demons by Sanki Saito translated by Ryan Choi is published by Open Letter. This is a Book originally written in Japanese. This was published in 2024.0 and has the ISBN of 9.781960385277E12.

Three Demons, translated from the Japanese by Ryan Choi, brings Sanki Saito’s Japanese-language work into English through Open Letter. Published in 2024, it is best approached as a book of encounter rather than as a book to solve. Saito’s title gives haiku a dark companion, drawing attention to terseness, disturbance, wartime pressure, and the old intimacy between spirit and image. Biography and context may deepen the experience, but they do not need to stand in the doorway. Let the poem arrive first, then let the questions follow. Translation here becomes less a matter of loss than of new access: a voice from Japan finding another set of nerves in English.

If you’d like to see international poetry continue and gain traction, consider requesting this work from your local library, or purchasing it from places like Open Books (a poetry only bookstore), Asterism Books (an independent press distributor), or bookshop.org to connect you with your local bookstores.

Check out more of the always in-progress translated poetry index here.