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gitli57's review
funny
reflective
4.0
There are other Haiku anthologies that contain more poems by more writers, but this is one of the most beautiful editions of Japanese classic poetry translated into English that I have seen. It was produced using traditional Chinese book binding technique in which the book block of folded pages is held between two boards, then sewn together, in this case with a red ribbon.
Four of the best known Japanese Haiku masters are included here, each represent by 20-25 poems, so fewer than 100 Haiku all together. Each page contains just one poem in three versions - written in Japanese characters, transliterated into western alphabet and translated into English. This leaves a lot of space on each page. The design captures the essence of this sparse and concentrated poetic style. It is a pleasure to engage with the poems in this format.
I do not have nearly enough Japanese language to judge either the accuracy or quality of the translations (all by Hart Larrabee). But the English versions scan nicely and seem to capture a range of emotions, including humor. Issa in particular often makes me smile. He not only carefully observes the world around him, but fully engages with it.
If you want mass quantities of Haiku, there are other good anthologies to choose from. If you want a beautiful book of classic Haiku to enjoy, it would be hard to do better than this edition.
Four of the best known Japanese Haiku masters are included here, each represent by 20-25 poems, so fewer than 100 Haiku all together. Each page contains just one poem in three versions - written in Japanese characters, transliterated into western alphabet and translated into English. This leaves a lot of space on each page. The design captures the essence of this sparse and concentrated poetic style. It is a pleasure to engage with the poems in this format.
I do not have nearly enough Japanese language to judge either the accuracy or quality of the translations (all by Hart Larrabee). But the English versions scan nicely and seem to capture a range of emotions, including humor. Issa in particular often makes me smile. He not only carefully observes the world around him, but fully engages with it.
If you want mass quantities of Haiku, there are other good anthologies to choose from. If you want a beautiful book of classic Haiku to enjoy, it would be hard to do better than this edition.
etienne02's review
5.0
Very great haiku book. It was great for various reason. The art was great, the way the haiku were presented was awesome, they always have one picture, and the haiku written in three way, the alphabetical Japanese, the English version and the original Japanese writing with their own «writing» not sure how to call it, but not the alphabetical one. So that was good in itself, but what was even better was the selection of haiku from, probably the most popular and talented haiku author like Basho, Buson, Issa, Shiki and I think there a few more... Very good, very well edited and totally worth checking it out if you're into those kind of book (haiku or poetry).
readingrainbill's review
4.0
I remeber this
The counting on my fingers
And making haiku
But all joking aside this is a well done book. I got this as an advanced reading copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review so my lone issue may not even be an issue with the final product.
Just like I was taught from Dead Poets Society, I don't critique poetry. But what I can do is tell you that I did love the Haiku and thought they were quite beautiful. Are they good? Well I liked them.
There was artwork in this book as well and it ranged from beautiful Japanese woodblocks to a photo of a tree. The pictures were my only issue. The woodblocks were nice and topical but the random other pictures or small drawings felt out of place and it messed with the flow of the theme. Hopefully in the final product they'll change it.
But a few of the pictures being less than topical was truly my only issue. This was a great book and perfect for a coffee table conversation piece or as a thoughtful gift.
The counting on my fingers
And making haiku
But all joking aside this is a well done book. I got this as an advanced reading copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review so my lone issue may not even be an issue with the final product.
Just like I was taught from Dead Poets Society, I don't critique poetry. But what I can do is tell you that I did love the Haiku and thought they were quite beautiful. Are they good? Well I liked them.
There was artwork in this book as well and it ranged from beautiful Japanese woodblocks to a photo of a tree. The pictures were my only issue. The woodblocks were nice and topical but the random other pictures or small drawings felt out of place and it messed with the flow of the theme. Hopefully in the final product they'll change it.
But a few of the pictures being less than topical was truly my only issue. This was a great book and perfect for a coffee table conversation piece or as a thoughtful gift.
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