Margaret Chula Knihy

A collection of poems written during the author's three year tenure as poet laureate of Friends of Chamber Music

Set against the backdrop of Japan in the 1980s, this memoir explores the author's deep connection to Japanese poetry and culture through her experiences as a foreigner. Margaret Chula shares her humorous, embarrassing, and poignant stories of adapting to life in a traditional Japanese home. Written in the haibun style, the narrative blends prose with haiku, offering insights into the beauty of everyday life and the complexities of cultural immersion. Accompanied by photographs, it reflects on a transformative journey enriched by Japanese history and personal growth.

In Shadow Man , Margaret Chula brings her father out of the shadows where he had been since 1957, the day her mother packed their five children—all under the age of ten—into the car and drove away. Over the years, Margaret comes to accept the differences between a mother who wants China cups with saucers and a father who’s content with a Budweiser. Through writing about these awkward, often heartbreaking, interactions with her estranged father, she discovers that there’s more than one truth and that each of us must find our own. “ Shadow Man is a deeply touching portrayal of love, loss, and forgiveness.”—Penelope Scambly Schott, Oregon Book Award for Poetry “Through Chula’s insights, we as readers can understand our own fraught relationships with parents. As adults facing honest memory, we can arrive at the grace of reconciliation that Chula shows is possible and essential for our own serenity.”—Bill Siverly, author of Nightfall