Bøger af Yukiko Inoue-Smith

Escape. This is an essential theme for my tanka. Feelings of wanting to escape. What I am talking about here is different from feelings of wanting to run away when being chased. It refers to a state of mind in which one feels like a bird in a cage. A bird with its wings clipped lives a miserable existence, in that cage. What drives my tanka poetry is often the despair of no escape. At other times, I also feel hope that I might be able to escape. I constantly sway between hope and despair. Those must be my honest feelings. I was once told that I had at most ten years of vision remaining. But since then, it has been thirty-five years, and I have not lost my eyesight. I wanted to fulfill my life¿s purpose in learning. For that reason, while I was trembling at the doctor¿s prediction of my blindness, I came to America to study at a graduate school. America was never my ¿safe haven.¿ Instead, I felt safe in simply knowing that I had a homeland to return to: cherry blossoms bloom and fall in my memories. Snow also reminds me of my snowy hometown." cherry blossoms¿ and ¿snow¿ are themselves the origins of my tanka writing.

Living, studying, and teaching have provided me with many experiences that led me to think about the components of life itself. During this time, writing tanka poems has become an important part of my life, just like keeping a diary. Tanka is a very short form of poetry that expresses feelings and emotions. Without writing tanka poems, I probably could not have survived in the world of academia. Life is indeed full of hardships, so that in some environments, even survival itself is a challenge. The truth is, ¿living well¿ is the hardest assignment for all of us enrolled in the school called ¿Life.¿ I think of ¿memento mori:¿ remembering that I must die someday. Both tasks (that is, to live well and to die well) motivate me to write tanka: to continue my journey in life of experiences and moments of connection that I will carry with me, and share with others, in the form of tanka poems. Most poems in this book are recent ones, thus written from 2021 to 2023.

Compared to haiku, Japan¿s oldest poetry genre called ¿tankä (or ¿wakä traditionally) is not so familiar with people in the United States or rest of the world. In recent decades, however, tanka is becoming increasingly popular among Western readers, presumably because they recognize that this poetic style provides an ideal format and length for expressing their emotions. Tanka poems written in Japanese are tiny verses of thirty-one syllables in one straight line. But, in English and other languages, it is often written using five lines. For an English language tanka, requirements are not so strict. The challenge is how to use a few words effectively: exactness and concrete image are essential elements of composing tanka. More than in haiku, tanka requires a sense of verbal rhythm and musical flow which encounters in English poems. Finally, tanka conveys its meaning or a feeling by implication, in symbols, or by allusion. This is ¿yojo¿¿ the soul of tanka.

I have come to realize the huge benefits of having pets. In the spring of 2013, two cats came into my life. For most of my adult life, I concentrated on my studies and then on my work. What a prosaic life I led for so many years! Without knowing it, I needed cats very much. When I become very old and physically not strong anymore, a time may come when I cannot even play with cats anymore. Therefore, perhaps, God sent me these cats before it is too late. Goblin (who has a round face) prefers to be alone and seems to enjoy quiet time without getting tired of the solitude. PJ (who has an inverted triangle face) is a people-oriented cat, and more affectionate than Goblin. These two cats¿beautiful and friendly¿certainly provide me with energy to keep going and inspiration for writing poetry as well.

¿I shall live here and now,¿ I told myself. To say this is easy, but to practice it every day is difficult. I walked and walked and walked; and I have finally come this far. I realized that we are alone after all. And life is a continuous journey. . . . Living in Japan, America, and Guam have provided me with many experiences that led me to think about the components of my daily life. During this time, writing tanka has become an important part of my life. Without writing tanka, I probably could not have survived in the world of academia. A well-known Japanese movie director said that laughter and seriousness are the two most important themes for his work, because these are essentially connected to life and death. The point is not just to live, but to live well. ¿Living well¿ is the hardest assignment for all of us enrolled in the school called Life. I think of ¿memento mori.¿ Both tasks (that is, to live well and to die well) motivate me to write tanka: to continue my journey in the woods of experiences and moments of connection that I will carry with me in the form of tanka. This book includes selected, representative tanka poems and short essays from each of my recent books.

Explores the link between effective course design and student engagement and optimizes learning and assessments in technology-enhanced environments and among diverse student populations. The focus is on providing an understanding of the link between practices for effective ""activities"" and strategies for effective ""assessments"".

Instructors at universities face many of the same concerns. This book provides educational practices, and examines challenges involving technologies in increasingly diverse learning environments. It studies knowledge on how students learn, and the application of that knowledge to technology.

Presents a comprehensive study of teaching applications involving educational technology. This book encourages collaboration across geographical borders to promote information literacy, facilitate the learning process, and to establish a greater infusion of technology throughout the region.

Years of studying and teaching in different academic settings have provided Inoue-Smith with many experiences and observations that led her to think about the components of professor's daily lives. This book focuses on how reflection and self-understanding helps scholars to excel in their teaching and their careers.

This book of tanka, an ancient style of Japanese poetry, includes essays written to accompany and complement the poems. The short essays included here provide practical thoughts based on the author's long years of personal and professional experiences - studying, reading, teaching, thinking, and especially, cherishing each day of living.