I was delighted to see this note from Christopher Yohmei Blasdel:
I’m thrilled to announce the streaming re-release of “Heart of Bamboo: Poetry and Music in the Zen Tradition,” featuring the poetry of Sam Hamill with my shakuhachi and Liz Falconer on koto.
This epoch-making album of the late poet Sam Hamill reading his own works to shakuhachi and koto music was originally published in 1997 and is now available on Amazon, I-Tunes, Apple Music and various other streaming services. This album was recorded in 1997 in Port Townsend, WA at the peak of Sam’s career and illuminates the vital, living connection he felt between poetry and song (music). Sam’s poetry is, in essence, a kind of music consisting of printed words that come alive when voiced. Expressed in Sam’s own words: “All poetry aspires to the conditions of music. Poetry and music share a common root: both begin in deep listening. True listening begins and ends in stillness.”The music set to poetry in Heart of Bamboo consists of sounds and melodies performed on two traditional Japanese instruments: the vertical bamboo shakuhachi flute and the thirteen-stringed koto. The music consists of set improvisation informed by the elegant legacy of traditional Japanese aesthetics. The beauty of these graceful instruments is, of course, enhanced by the indefatigable voice of the master poet. “Reading is understood through the ear more than through the eye.”
To hear Sam’s voice again is a blessing. I’m having difficulty finding this on Spotify, but I hope it is available there soon. Enjoy! and long live Sam.
