Poetry Books
Essential Haiku (Essential Poets)
RRP: $16.00
Our Price: $10.88
You Save: $ 5.12 ( 32% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Ecco
Author: Hass
Publisher: Ecco
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $10.88
You Save: $ 5.12 ( 32% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Ecco
Author: Hass
Publisher: Ecco
Average Customer Rating:
Experimental feature: Order Essential Haiku (Essential Poets) from the UK, Canada, Germany or France by clicking an appropriate flag below.
Some items available at Amazon.com are not available in all countries.
Some items available at Amazon.com are not available in all countries.
Essential Haiku (Essential Poets) Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 895.613208
EAN: 9780880013512
ISBN: 0880013516
Label: Ecco
Manufacturer: Ecco
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 329
Publication Date: 1995-10-01
Publisher: Ecco
Product Release Date: 1995-08-01
Studio: Ecco
Dewey Decimal Number: 895.613208
EAN: 9780880013512
ISBN: 0880013516
Label: Ecco
Manufacturer: Ecco
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 329
Publication Date: 1995-10-01
Publisher: Ecco
Product Release Date: 1995-08-01
Studio: Ecco
Editorial Review of Essential Haiku (Essential Poets)
An exquisite collection of the finest works of three distinct masters of the haiku tradition: Matsuo Basho (the ascetic and seeker), Yosa Buson (the artist), and Kobayashi Issa (the humanist).
The editor, Robert Hass, United States poet laureate, is the author of several books of poetry including Human Wishes as well as a book of criticism Twentieth Century Pleasures, for which he received The National Book Critics Circle Award. The book is one of the larger series of poetry collections, Essential Poets Series published by Ecco Press.
Customer Reviews of Essential Haiku (Essential Poets)
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Wonderful, Wonderful, Wonderful
Review: I love this collection of haiku. I've marked several favorites with Post-It flags and thumb through it often. I recommend it to anyone, especially people who are knew to haiku, because it includes a variety of themes and the poems were all written by true masters of the art. It's simply wonderful.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A brilliant collection
Review: The book contains three introductory biographical essays by Hass, that help to place the masters in a historical context and help to understand the development of their styles.
so refreshing to learn
many Issa's haiku
were quite bad
It also contains several poetic prose fragments by all three poets that put their haiku in context of their journeys and events from their lives. The last part of the book includes fragments of Kyorai's "Conversations with Basho." It is always a treat for me to be provided with some insights about an artistic process. Needless to say, the book is full of pearls, diamonds and snowflakes. Translations (or their "versions," as Haas would say) are exquisite and very poetic; it was enough for me to read a few to feel inspired. A truly a marvelous book.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The best selection and the best translations
Review: I am new to haiku and was looking for a few books to give me an idea of the traditional haiku. The translations in some books made me think that haiku is not for me. However, this book is amazing. Not only does the editor select the most representative of Basho, Buson, and Issa, but the translations make poetic sense. There is additional material, such as a short biography on each poet and some exerpts of their prose (such as Issa's "A Year of My Life" and coversations with Basho). Five stars without hestitation.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: graceful translations
Review: I bought this book over ten years ago on the recommendation of a professor. At the time, I was translating haiku from Japanese, and he suggested I take a look at Robert Hass' style of translating. It was timely advice for a fledgling translator. Hass' haiku renderings sometimes stray a little too much from the original meanings to satisfy the needs of scholars, but they are always clear, always graceful, and- after ten years of continually returning to the book- always fresh. I think part of the success of these translations comes from their colloquial language. There is nothing awkward about them, nothing in the language to draw attention to it as a translation. And aren't the best translations like that?-- unobtrusive, inconspicuous, almost like dopplegangers of the original. I believe so, and I believe these translations will have quite a long shelf life.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: American haiku
Review: I fully believe in the translating philosophy that poems should be rendered in the most contemporary language possible. Translating archaic language with archaic equivalents doesn't necessarily convey what it was like for contemporary audiences of the originals to read and experience them.
And that is what I like most about this collection. Robert Hass decided to use contemporary language for these haiku, and in this case, his contemporary language: American English. The haiku are highly readable and accessible. I've read criticisms to the contrary, namely that he loses the tone of the originals and takes some liberties with meaning. While I think it may be helpful to point this out, I don't think it is fair criticism, per se. There had to be a compromise, and Robert Hass consciously made a decision and consistently stuck to his preferred style. These aren't academic translations, and thank goodness. As a result, we have fresh translations of wonderful classics.
Review Summary: Wonderful, Wonderful, Wonderful
Review: I love this collection of haiku. I've marked several favorites with Post-It flags and thumb through it often. I recommend it to anyone, especially people who are knew to haiku, because it includes a variety of themes and the poems were all written by true masters of the art. It's simply wonderful.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A brilliant collection
Review: The book contains three introductory biographical essays by Hass, that help to place the masters in a historical context and help to understand the development of their styles.
so refreshing to learn
many Issa's haiku
were quite bad
It also contains several poetic prose fragments by all three poets that put their haiku in context of their journeys and events from their lives. The last part of the book includes fragments of Kyorai's "Conversations with Basho." It is always a treat for me to be provided with some insights about an artistic process. Needless to say, the book is full of pearls, diamonds and snowflakes. Translations (or their "versions," as Haas would say) are exquisite and very poetic; it was enough for me to read a few to feel inspired. A truly a marvelous book.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The best selection and the best translations
Review: I am new to haiku and was looking for a few books to give me an idea of the traditional haiku. The translations in some books made me think that haiku is not for me. However, this book is amazing. Not only does the editor select the most representative of Basho, Buson, and Issa, but the translations make poetic sense. There is additional material, such as a short biography on each poet and some exerpts of their prose (such as Issa's "A Year of My Life" and coversations with Basho). Five stars without hestitation.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: graceful translations
Review: I bought this book over ten years ago on the recommendation of a professor. At the time, I was translating haiku from Japanese, and he suggested I take a look at Robert Hass' style of translating. It was timely advice for a fledgling translator. Hass' haiku renderings sometimes stray a little too much from the original meanings to satisfy the needs of scholars, but they are always clear, always graceful, and- after ten years of continually returning to the book- always fresh. I think part of the success of these translations comes from their colloquial language. There is nothing awkward about them, nothing in the language to draw attention to it as a translation. And aren't the best translations like that?-- unobtrusive, inconspicuous, almost like dopplegangers of the original. I believe so, and I believe these translations will have quite a long shelf life.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: American haiku
Review: I fully believe in the translating philosophy that poems should be rendered in the most contemporary language possible. Translating archaic language with archaic equivalents doesn't necessarily convey what it was like for contemporary audiences of the originals to read and experience them.
And that is what I like most about this collection. Robert Hass decided to use contemporary language for these haiku, and in this case, his contemporary language: American English. The haiku are highly readable and accessible. I've read criticisms to the contrary, namely that he loses the tone of the originals and takes some liberties with meaning. While I think it may be helpful to point this out, I don't think it is fair criticism, per se. There had to be a compromise, and Robert Hass consciously made a decision and consistently stuck to his preferred style. These aren't academic translations, and thank goodness. As a result, we have fresh translations of wonderful classics.