SOURCE: "Journeying Eastward, Journeying Home," in The Georgia Review, Vol. XXXIX, No. 4, Winter, 1985, pp. 864-70.

In the following essay, Corseri explores influence of Zen Buddhism on Stryk's verse and poetic philosophy.

I

I know very well that Zen is above explanation, and that a Westerner may find expository remarks in a Zen interview inadequate. Nonetheless, an exchange between a Westerner and a Japanese master might very well serve as a stimulant toward the reader's further efforts for a better appreciation of Zen.

Forewarned is forearmed, and Lucien Stryk serves us well in quoting Rinzai Master Taigan Takayama before the first of sixteen interviews with various practitioners who explore the world of Zen. A prolific writer on the subject—as well as the brilliant translator of Japanese Zen poet Shinkichi Takahashi and a noted poet himself—Stryk is aptly positioned to guide the uninitiated and the curious through this...