A Beginner's Guide to Japanese Haiku
Major Works by Japan's Best-loved Poets - From Basho and Issa to Ryokan and Santoka, With Works by Six Women Poets (free Online Audio)
Tuttle Publishing · Print & ebook · March 28, 2023
An old pond; a frog jumps in: the sound of water — Basho This comprehensive introduction to Japan's best-loved haiku poets is the perfect book for anyone wanting to learn about haiku.
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- Who it’s for
- Readers wanting to learn about haiku
- Themes
- Japanese haiku poetry, Japanese poets across centuries, Haiku in Japanese and English
- Genres
- Haiku, Japanese Poetry, Japanese Literary Collections
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An old pond; a frog jumps in: the sound of water — Basho This comprehensive introduction to Japan's best-loved haiku poets is the perfect book for anyone wanting to learn about haiku. Compiled and with commentary by renowned author and translator William Scott Wilson, the book features 26 poets and 550 haiku, exquisitely translated. Wilson takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the works of the major Japanese poets from the fifteenth century up to the present.
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The poets include Basho, Shiki, Buson and Issa (the "Great Four") along with other well-known practitioners of the genre such as Ryokan, Kikaku and Chora. Wilson gives his own brand-new renditions of poems that are already known as classics, and also shares with us the delightful work of a number of poets who are rarely found in English translation, such as six female poets including Chiyojo and Hisajo, as well as novelist Natsume Soseki, who, unbeknown to many, also wrote haiku. The book is divided into sections, each starting with a 2-4 page introduction to each poet, followed by a selection of that poet's haiku, in Japanese script and English translation. Online audio files are available with recordings of the poems in both English and Japanese.
Who it’s for
- Readers wanting to learn about haiku
- Readers interested in Japanese poets from the fifteenth century to today
Where it sits
| Haiku | 77% |
|---|---|
| Japanese Poetry | 71% |
| Japanese Literary Collections | 40% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Writers' Lives
- Japanese Poetry
- Haiku
- Authors
- William Scott Wilson
- Publisher
- Tuttle Publishing
- Published
- March 28, 2023
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Japanese haiku poetry · Japanese poets across centuries · Haiku in Japanese and English
- Reading lane
- Writers' Lives