Reviews

The Heart of Haiku by Jane Hirshfield

forgereads17's review

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

5.0

yusraakbari's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

2.75

dkai's review

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4.0

Good introduction to ideas of haiku

jselliot's review

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informative reflective slow-paced

3.0

A short missive on the history of haiku and how Basho helped shape the genre. Not bad, just nothing I haven't already read before from different authors.

mikepearce's review

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4.0

This is a lovely book, if you like haikus, and are interested in the history and are trying to achieve your Goodreads book challenge.

angasa_salome's review

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4.0

I did not expect to love this book. I was not familiar with Matsuo Bashō until I read this and, I'm not a haiku person. However, this rumination on the 17th century poet and his craft is one of the most delicate and insightful character studies I've read in a while.

I personally didn't even understand some of his poems (Hirshfield relays their meaning very well) but this is easily one of the most beautifully written and structured texts I've read this year.

talmahdi's review

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4.0

hai•ku (noun): a Japanese form of poetry.
Small but many.

*Note to self: Tokyo was called Edo in the 1600's.

the_bee_writes's review

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4.0

Lovely

Lovely short introduction to the life and work of Basho. Gave me food for thought for my own poetry writing.

dlsaenz's review

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informative reflective slow-paced

2.75

swt's review

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3.0

Interesting and informative.