MUSINGS
My modern pillow book Cathryn Salis Poetry from a past life inspires modern writers to slow down and honor the simplicity of lists.
S
ei shonagon’s lists were never intended to be the blueprint for a form of collection poetry, but as she wrote her thoughts, observations, comments and complaints in her eventually published pillow book, the concept was immortalized and cherished as an exemplary piece of history and art in literature. Pillow books mirror modern-day journals or blogs and were not an uncommon form of communication between court ladies during the time period that Shonagon lived in (966-1017). As a lady-in-waiting serving Japanese empress Sadako, she and the other women in her circle participated in the swapping and reading of each other’s pillow books as a form of gossip. In a life so sheltered and different from the ones the majority of us live, Shonagon’s pillow book lends us insight into a time that we have little other record of. However, her lists are what captures the attention of most readers. Poetic, simple and largely unstructured, her lists contain gentle but not fragile depictions of the world around her. The lists are beautiful. Poems with titles such as Disconcerting Things and Nothing Can Be Worse capture details that are enticing when singled out in such a way. Poets and writers mimicking the style of these lists has led to the birth of Shonagon’s own genre of poetry. Shonagon’s list poems are characterized by a prompting title and a collection of nouns that respond to the prompt. Simple and striking, this form of list poetry brings alive the little things in life; reminding readers that certain things will always be valued by mankind in this way.
Following are my attempts to create collections of meaningful moments and concepts. I urge you to use this as a writing practice in your own life, perhaps it will help foster your wonder and amusement in the mundane, as it has for me.
12 | UNTOLD
