Bewildering Stories introduces and welcomes...

Robert Witmer

Robert Witmer served as Professor of English at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan until retiring in 2022. He has published two collections of poems as well as a voluminous number of poems in print and on-line journals. He has also served as the lead translations editor of half a century of Japanese plays.

“The Rattle of Bones: Rolling Dice on a Burning Bridge” will remind readers that it’s the U.S. political season of 2016-2025 with references such as “To mask or not to mask” and “He whistles Dixie through twisted lips.” A line quoted from Wallace Stevens’ “The Emperor of Ice Cream” calls for turning attention away from a “carnival” to the reality of “the ones in the street,” real people who loom above any artificial goals. As for the long title, it can be interpreted to mean: “There’s no point in taking a gamble on the future, the bridge to it is burning, and we have to move forward.”

Robert Witmer’s bio sketch can be found here.

Welcome to Bewildering Stories, Robert. We’re glad to have you with us.