The Ocean Inside Kenji Takezo

by Rick Noguchi

For the young Kenji Takezo, the innocent surfer who inhabits this collection of poems, balance becomes more than just trying to stand on a wave. It is a way of surviving in a world as precarious as the ocean, a world constantly turning on itself.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0822956136
• ISBN13: 9780822956136
• Release Date: October 1996
• Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press
• Length: 80 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Startling

Mr. Noguchi's first book still startles me. I read it when it first came out and I return to it regularly. Here is a book of lyrics that tells the story of Kenji Takezo and his overwhelming passion for the deep blue sea. An American coming-of-age story, a surfer's story,it gracefully chronicles a young man's tricky relations with the force of gravity and the thrill of speed. Noguchi's Pacific is like Twain's Mississippi--an elemental, allegorical presence. The poems are tightly wound and often very funny, and yet there is something understated and deft that is beguiling. A kind of poignance and dignity permeates the wildest adventure of the hero. I love the stillness at the center of what roils and moves these poems, and I love the clarity of this book like I love to breathe the spring air. If you don't buy this book, go to the library. Or steal it. A seriously dazzling thing.