Rainbows Appear: Tibetan Poems of Shakbar

Good art work but the poetry was minimal. It was more of an art book than a book of poetics. I gave it 4 stars because of the images.

This is a lovely slim volume with few words, but very thoughtful ones. The calligraphy is gorgeous and done in the many styles of Tibetan scripts, which are explained in the final portion of the book. I have found few books that give examples of the various scripts, and this one gives poems too!

Calligraphy and poetry are not things that are automatically stuck together. But exquisite, brief poems and colorful calligraphy are inextricably entwined in "Rainbows Appear: Tibetan Poems of Shabkar." It's not quite a spiritual experience, but it's the next best thing. The poetry is taken from the autobiography of Shabkar Tsogdruk Rangdroi, a Buddhist mystic who taught and traveled across Tibet. His poetry is brief and hard-hitting, with powerful, simple sentiments: "Incense, flowers and lamps are not/the best offerings to the Buddha/the most beautiful gift to the Buddha/is good done for beings." Okay, you don't have to be a Buddhist to appreciate the quiet instruction in this verse. Another striking thing about Shabkar's poetry is not just that it can be counted as spiritual instruction, but also that it contains beautiful metaphors, mostly from nature. In one verse, he compares himself to the sun, "resplendent with light," and reflects that the sky will remain while the sun will not. What about the calligraphy? Jigme Doushe has lovely calligraphic skills, from what I can tell. And he makes his work come alive with bright colors mixed in with neutral tones -- one is simply fawn-colored with dark red and pale yellow, while another is electric blue and orange. Most tend toward neutrals, but are splashed with color. The two art forms complement each other, with the colorful calligraphy boosting the simple verses. And Doushe provides an afterword which sets the poetry, calligraphy and religion in their historical context, as well as giving some insights into his own artwork. It's strangely soothing to read Shabkar's peaceful poetry, while looking at Doushe's striking calligraphy. A beautiful little collection.