"Dynamic, lyrical, and nuanced, this collection is simply delightful. The twin functions of poetry as intimate dialogue and a form of play between friends are both deeply rooted in the tanka as well as the haiku. In these sequences, we are able to enjoy the interplay as two masters of their respective forms explore the rich intersection between the two genres, creating something that is both familiar and entirely new." --Clayton Beach, Co-editor of Heliosparrow Poetry Journal
"By linking tanka and haiku together in Distance, Kitakubo and Kolodji blow the doors open to all the possibilities. In combining these two long-standing literary traditions, the two authors have explored the depth and scope of how the forms can build upon each other to create something fresh and new. While staying true to the spirit of each form, Kitakubo and Kolodji link and explore not just their poems, but their lives and their friendship." --Bryan Rickert, President, Haiku Society of America
Mariko Kitakubo is a tanka poet/tanka reading performer born in Tokyo (4, Oct. 1959) and living in Mitaka-city, Tokyo. Mariko has published six books of tanka including three bilingual ones, On This Same Star, Cicada Forest and INDIGO. She has also produced a CD of her tanka titled "Messages." Mariko is an experienced performer who has presented her poetry on at least 238 occasions, 181 of them overseas (April 2023) in 54 cities around the world, including the US, Canada, Australia, India, France, Germany, Portugal, UK, Tanzania, Switzerland, Bulgaria, and Sweden. Mariko hopes to encourage more poetry lovers worldwide to appreciate and practice tanka. URL: https: //www.en.kitakubo.com
Deborah P Kolodji is the Moderator of the Southern California Haiku Study Group, the California Regional Coordinator for the Haiku Society of America, and a member of the board of directors for Haiku North America. She has a degree in mathematics from the University of Southern California. With over 1000 published haiku to her name, her first full-length book of haiku and senryu, highway of sleeping towns, from Shabda Press, was awarded a Touchstone Distinguished Book Award from The Haiku Foundation. Her e-chapbook, tug of a black hole, won 2nd Place in the Elgin Awards from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association. She finds inspiration in the beaches, mountains, deserts, gardens, and urban life of Los Angeles County.