Ryokan (1758-1831) was a poet, master calligrapher, zen hermit, and is one of the most beloved poets of Japan. Taking the name of Daigo or "Great Fool:, he was often seen playing games with the village children or begging for food. Instead of becoming the head of a zen temple he preferred the simple and independent life of a hermit. Dennis Maloney is a poet, translator,and landscape architect. His books of translation include The House In the Sand and Isla Negra by pablo Neruda, The Naked Women by Juan Ramon Jimenez, and There is No Road: Proverbs of Antonio Machado. Hide Oshiro is a Japanese visual artist living in the U.S. He has illustrated Basho's travel journal, Back Roads to Far Towns, and Tangled Hair: Poems of Yosano Akiko.
