Japan and India Journals, 1960–1964

One of the major poets of the Beat Generation, JOANNE KYGER was born in 1934. In 1960, she traveled to Japan to be with her then-husband Gary Snyder. In 1962 they traveled to India, where, along with Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky, they met the Dalai Lama. She returned to California in 1964 and settled in Bolinas in 1969, where she resides today. She has published over 30 books of poetry and prose, including On Time and As Ever: Selected Poems.

“Here is a classic of zig-zag Zen. It conjures an era when certain Americans, seeing the pointlessness of USA consumerism, went overseas. They were willing to live cheap, immerse themselves in Zen and yoga, and learn Asian life-ways. You watch Joanne Kyger become a poet in these pages—writing daily, schooling herself in travel, friendship, marriage (unexpected), and the customs of post-War Japan. Four months in India with Snyder and Ginsberg recall a time when the adventuresome could walk in and talk to the Dalai Lama, stay at the Aurobindo Ashram, or match wits with sadhus, yogis, and philosophers. Put The Japan and India Journals alongside Mark Twain’s travel books, for relentless candor and dry smart humor.”—Andrew Schelling