Travis R. Venters, an American from North Carolina, came to Tokyo in 1971. Most of the time he has lived in or near Kichijoji. He is a retired professor and a permanent resident of Japan. Some of these poems came from living on the Crow Indian reservation. Others come from living in a small town as the only child of a widowed mother. The selection of Japan poems concerns the bittersweet ups and downs of an ex-patriot’s life during the last few decades in Tokyo. Perhaps, these poems will help you understand where he came from and why he has stayed in Tokyo.