Nanao Sakaki

Poet who contributed poem,
A Love Letter

Read
"Interview with Nanao Sakaki,
poet, and godfather of
Japanese Hippies"

In the winter of 1978, there was a small encampment up El Salto, north of Taos and up against the cold west face of the mountain.

Sunrise was late, around 10am, but I would trudge through the snow from my yurt, and Nanao would trudge from his immobile schoolbus home in the opposite direction, and we'd meet in the middle, at Non and Bird's tipi, for coffee and breakfast.

Nanao gave me some of his handwritten poems before our camp split up, allowing me to use "A Love Letter" in the first printing of Mongolian Cloud Houses.