The Game of 100 Ghosts

Poetry. Asian & Asian American Studies. This wonderful collection is inspired by an old Japanese parlour game of telling ghost stories. In this game, popular during the Edo period (1603-1868), participants gathered at night to sit around 100 lit candles. Each player then told a ghost story in turn. After each story, a candle was snuffed out. The last candle to burn out represented the end of a spiritual evocation, which the participants hoped would summon a supernatural being from another world. THE GAME OF 100 GHOSTS is a lyrical tribute to the poet's friends and relations who recently departed their lives.

Terry Watada is a Toronto poet, novelist, playwright and essayist, and historian, musician and composer, with numerous publications to his credit. Five of his plays have received mainstage production. He contributes a monthly column to The Bulletin, a national Japanese Canadian community paper. For his writing, music and community volunteerism, he was recently awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.His published works include The Sword, the Medal and the Rosary (manga, 2013), The TBC: the Toronto Buddhist Church, 1995 - 2010 (2010); Kuroshio: The Blood of Foxes (novel, 2007); Obon: the Festival of the Dead (2006); Ten Thousand Views of Rain (poetry, 2001), and A Thousand Homes (poetry, 1995).