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.
![Sam Hamill at the first Cascadia Poetry Festival, 2012. (Meredith Nelson, photographer)](https://i0.wp.com/paulenelson.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Sam-Hamill-Cascadia-1-2012.jpg?resize=480%2C649&ssl=1)
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.
![](https://i0.wp.com/paulenelson.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Screenshot-2024-08-25-at-7.18.16 AM.png?resize=1024%2C695&ssl=1)