Seeking the Cave: Han-shan Haibun: a Pilgrimage Through the Ka-ching Dynasty in Search of the T'ang

In 2006, James P. Lenfestey fulfilled his dream of a pilgrimage to the cave of his teacher Han-shan, who lived twelve hundred years ago in China's Tientai Mountains. Lenfestey's acclaimed previous collection, A Cartload of Scrolls: 100 Poems in the Manner of T'ang Dynasty Poet Han-Shan (Holy Cow! Press, 2007), delighted readers with its witty and wise poetic descriptions of the beginning of this unlikely love affair. In this new collection, written in the ancient haibun form of alternating prose and poetry, he tells of another improbable literary journey beginning with visiting esteemed translator Burton Watson in Tokyo, where he has lived for nearly forty years, and ending with surprise encounters near Cold Mountain cave. Along the way, he and his merry band of traveling companions visit Buddhist temples and the sites of other ancient poets, including Chia Tao, Po Chui-i, Li Bai, Tu Fu, and Su Tung-Po. He and his companions hear their stories and leave fresh marks inside modern China, now so eager for money they label it the Ka-ching Dynasty. The book includes a DVD of videographer Mike Hazard's Cold Mountain documentary, featuring interviews with Lenfestey and well-known Chinese translators Burton Watson, Red Pine, and Gary Snyder.

James P. Lenfestey has worked as a college literature instructor, alternative school administrator, salesman, and editorial writer for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, where he won several Page One awards. He has published four previous collections of poetry and a collection of personal essays, The Urban Coyote: Howlings on Family, Community and the Search for Peace and Quiet (Nodin Press). He coordinates poetry festivals and a reading series in California, Michigan, and Minneapolis, where he and his wife currently reside.