Drifting Flowers of the Sea and Other Poems

Sadakichi Hartmann was born in Nagasaki Harbor, to a German businessman and a Japanese mother. His mother died during childbirth and Sadakichi was sent to Germany to be raised. He arrived in America in 1882 and became friends with Walt Whitman. Sadakichi became an art and literary critic, wrote plays, short stories and several volumes of poetry. His poetry was heavily influenced by both the Japanese forms and Symbolist poets like Stéphane Mallarmé. - Summary by Nemo