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The Essential Haiku: Versions of Bashō, Buson, and Issa by Yosa Buson, Kobayashi Issa, Matsuo Bashō
nekomeith's review against another edition
5.0
Haiku is my favorite form of poetry, and this book has some of the best Haiku ever formed!
mary_soon_lee's review against another edition
4.0
In this book, Robert Hass provides translations of haiku by three of its preeminent practitioners, together with supplemental material to give the reader context, such as how haiku grew out of the older Japanese tradition of collaborative verse. Basho, who lived in the seventeenth century, worked before haiku were seen as an independent art-form.
At the end of the book, Hass discusses the difficulties of translating haiku. How the resonance of their seasonal references, their mix of kanji and phonetic symbols, the syntax, the punning are hard to render in English. Yet despite that, he captures something that moved me in his lean translations. For example, here are two of his translations of Basho:
Midfield,
attached to nothing,
the skylark singing.
You could turn this way,
I'm also lonely
this autumn evening.
And two of Buson's:
Coolness--
the sound of the bell
as it leaves the bell.
The old man
cutting barley--
bent like a sickle.
And two of Issa's:
The holes in the wall
play the flute
this autumn evening.
Last time, I think,
I'll brush the flies
from my father's face.
I found the book an excellent introduction to the three poets. Highly recommended.
At the end of the book, Hass discusses the difficulties of translating haiku. How the resonance of their seasonal references, their mix of kanji and phonetic symbols, the syntax, the punning are hard to render in English. Yet despite that, he captures something that moved me in his lean translations. For example, here are two of his translations of Basho:
Midfield,
attached to nothing,
the skylark singing.
You could turn this way,
I'm also lonely
this autumn evening.
And two of Buson's:
Coolness--
the sound of the bell
as it leaves the bell.
The old man
cutting barley--
bent like a sickle.
And two of Issa's:
The holes in the wall
play the flute
this autumn evening.
Last time, I think,
I'll brush the flies
from my father's face.
I found the book an excellent introduction to the three poets. Highly recommended.
foggy1218's review against another edition
4.0
2023 reads, 9/12:
Poetry was really interesting when we learned about it in school, but it was never my favorite unit in lit class because it was taught with so many ‘rules’ (limericks, acrostics, triplets, etc.). However, the biggest ‘rule’ drilled into our heads was that haikus follow the 5-7-5 syllable structure. Reading these poems dating back to the ‘birth’ of haiku, with masters Bashō, Buson, and Issa, has further opened my mind to what a haiku can truly be. The journal entries from each of these masters were also super interesting, and ended up enriching their respective poetry.
Poetry was really interesting when we learned about it in school, but it was never my favorite unit in lit class because it was taught with so many ‘rules’ (limericks, acrostics, triplets, etc.). However, the biggest ‘rule’ drilled into our heads was that haikus follow the 5-7-5 syllable structure. Reading these poems dating back to the ‘birth’ of haiku, with masters Bashō, Buson, and Issa, has further opened my mind to what a haiku can truly be. The journal entries from each of these masters were also super interesting, and ended up enriching their respective poetry.
amsenter's review against another edition
3.0
Turns out I am just not really a poetry person. Some of these were quite beautiful, others laugh out loud funny, but overall I felt like I wasn't giving them the attention they deserve. I tried to force myself to slow down and savor each verse, but I couldn't break the habit of just reading straight through as I would a work of prose.
I did learn a lot about the haiku as an art form; I thought the notes section was extremely interesting and helpful for understanding the poems. So overall take my three-star review with a grain of salt. I'm sure that someone who enjoys poetry more than I do would rate this higher than I did.
I did learn a lot about the haiku as an art form; I thought the notes section was extremely interesting and helpful for understanding the poems. So overall take my three-star review with a grain of salt. I'm sure that someone who enjoys poetry more than I do would rate this higher than I did.
annemariewellswriter's review against another edition
4.0
I loved that this book also included biographies and journal entries written by the haikaishi. Some of my favorites:
Don’t live long
But you’d never know it —
The cicada’s cry.
You could turn this way,
I’m also lonely
This autumn evening.
Don’t imitate me;
It’s as boring as
The two halves of the melon.
Climb Mount Fuji
O snail,
But slowly, slowly.
Children imitating cormorants
Are even more wonderful
Than cormorants.
Don’t live long
But you’d never know it —
The cicada’s cry.
You could turn this way,
I’m also lonely
This autumn evening.
Don’t imitate me;
It’s as boring as
The two halves of the melon.
Climb Mount Fuji
O snail,
But slowly, slowly.
Children imitating cormorants
Are even more wonderful
Than cormorants.
kristenmtan's review against another edition
4.0
read for cwr201. lots of great stuff in here. makes me want to read more japanese poetry
foggy_rosamund's review against another edition
5.0
I feel I will be reading this forever: but as I know I have read all the haiku this volume contains at least once, I am going to write a few small thoughts. Hass is not a speaker of Japanese, but uses a variety of translations by other poets, as well as direct translations, to create a new version of these poems. His translations are, overall, sensitive and poetic: sensitive to the theme and imagery of the original, and poetically pleasing. Hass provides excellent notes on many of the haiku, as well as introductions on each poet. The book contains some of the poet's prose works or longer poems, as well as appendices on haiku and the place of haiku in society at the time the poets were working. All this information is indispensable and this collection provides an excellent starting point for the novice.
As Hass translates work by only three poets, the reader is presented with a large selection of haiku from each poet, which allows her to gain some insight into each of them. Buson, also an artist, writes luminous, visual poetry that is both aesthetically pleasing and full of the sense of transience so important to the haiku writer. His work reminds me of ukiyo-e art distilled into a few words. Issa is a more earthy poet: he often writes about nature, particularly insects, and views spiders, fleas, flies, mosquitoes with interest and compassion. His work is the most humorous of the three: one of his poems seems to satirize the subjects of poets: "Moon, plum blossom / this, that / and the day goes by", and he mocks his own infirmities. Basho, the most famous haiku poet, and rightly so, combines a deeply sympathetic view of humanity and human suffering, with imagery of the transience of the natural world. He is constantly aware of his own fallibility as a human, as well as the grace and numinous quality of nature and those who inhabit it.
This is a book full of huge ideas distilled into tiny poems. There is so much here to think on, to meditate on, and to admire. It comforts and inspires. Hass's notes and introductions also provide excellent backgrounds which enriches my enjoyment of the poems.
As Hass translates work by only three poets, the reader is presented with a large selection of haiku from each poet, which allows her to gain some insight into each of them. Buson, also an artist, writes luminous, visual poetry that is both aesthetically pleasing and full of the sense of transience so important to the haiku writer. His work reminds me of ukiyo-e art distilled into a few words. Issa is a more earthy poet: he often writes about nature, particularly insects, and views spiders, fleas, flies, mosquitoes with interest and compassion. His work is the most humorous of the three: one of his poems seems to satirize the subjects of poets: "Moon, plum blossom / this, that / and the day goes by", and he mocks his own infirmities. Basho, the most famous haiku poet, and rightly so, combines a deeply sympathetic view of humanity and human suffering, with imagery of the transience of the natural world. He is constantly aware of his own fallibility as a human, as well as the grace and numinous quality of nature and those who inhabit it.
This is a book full of huge ideas distilled into tiny poems. There is so much here to think on, to meditate on, and to admire. It comforts and inspires. Hass's notes and introductions also provide excellent backgrounds which enriches my enjoyment of the poems.
cacia's review
3.0
Some favorites:
Many nights on the road
and not dead yet—
the end of autumn.
Winter rain—
the field stubble
has blackened.
Winter solitude—
in a world of one color
the sound of wind.
A field of cotton—
as if the moon
had flowered.
Buson
Autumn evening—
there's joy also
in loneliness.
By moonlight
the blossoming plum
is a tree in winter.
Escaped the nets,
escaped the ropes—
moon on the water.
The end of spring—
the poet is brooding
about editors.
The camellia—
it fell into the darkness
of the old well.
Harvest moon—
called at his house,
he was digging potatoes.
Before the white chrysanthemum
the scissors hesitate
a moment.
Issa
New Year's Day—
everything is in blossom!
I feel about average.
Children imitating cormorants
are even more wonderful
than cormorants.
Approaching my village:
Don't know about the people,
but all the scarecrows
are crooked.
Even with insects—
some can sing,
some can't.
Visiting the graves,
the old dog
leads the way.
The snail gets up
and goes to bed
with very little fuss.
Summer night—
even the stars
are whispering to each other.
Autumn moon—
a small boat
drifting down the tide.
Insects on a bough
floating downriver,
still singing.
Spoiler
BashouMany nights on the road
and not dead yet—
the end of autumn.
Winter rain—
the field stubble
has blackened.
Winter solitude—
in a world of one color
the sound of wind.
A field of cotton—
as if the moon
had flowered.
Buson
Autumn evening—
there's joy also
in loneliness.
By moonlight
the blossoming plum
is a tree in winter.
Escaped the nets,
escaped the ropes—
moon on the water.
The end of spring—
the poet is brooding
about editors.
The camellia—
it fell into the darkness
of the old well.
Harvest moon—
called at his house,
he was digging potatoes.
Before the white chrysanthemum
the scissors hesitate
a moment.
Issa
New Year's Day—
everything is in blossom!
I feel about average.
Children imitating cormorants
are even more wonderful
than cormorants.
Approaching my village:
Don't know about the people,
but all the scarecrows
are crooked.
Even with insects—
some can sing,
some can't.
Visiting the graves,
the old dog
leads the way.
The snail gets up
and goes to bed
with very little fuss.
Summer night—
even the stars
are whispering to each other.
Autumn moon—
a small boat
drifting down the tide.
Insects on a bough
floating downriver,
still singing.
jakeyjake's review against another edition
4.0
This book was well worth
the twelve dollars it cost me-
a real page turner.
the twelve dollars it cost me-
a real page turner.