ÒJacob SalzerÕs tanka in Metal & Rain reveal the deep resonance between the inner landscape of the human heart-mind and the outer landscape of mountains & rivers, forest & seaÑand their many denizens. Making skillful use of emotionally resonant images, SalzerÕs tanka probe the past, ponder the future, and examine perennial themes of family, love & loss, the nature of the self, and our place in the world: Òamong deep valleys / there is no me.Ó These deeply thoughtful poems offer no easy answers but invite readers to explore Òanother mystery / I donÕt want / to solve.Ó
ÑJenny Ward Angyal, award-winning tanka poet and author of Earthbound: Tanka-prose & Haibun, Only the Dance: Tanka Threads and Moonlight on Water: Tanka