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.