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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 895.6104
EAN: 9781570620195
ISBN: 1570620199
Label: Shambhala
Manufacturer: Shambhala
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 152
Publication Date: 2006-11-14
Publisher: Shambhala
Product Release Date: 2006-11-14
Studio: Shambhala

Here are more than two hundred of the best haiku of Japanese literature translated by one of America’s premier poet-translators. The haiku is one of the most popular and widely recognized poetic forms in the world. In just three lines a great haiku presents a crystalline moment of image, emotion, and awareness. This illustrated collection includes haiku by the great masters from the seventeenth to the early twentieth century.

Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The sound of Water.
Review:
Mi idioma es el español, pero puedo
leer este valioso librito en Ingles.
Basho, Buson, Issa, y otros writers
of Haiku son joyas que permanecen
en la mente. Altamente les recomiendo
tener esta miniatura de libro.
Martha

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Take It With You On A Walk In The Woods
Review:
I brought this small book of haiku along with me on a nature walk last autumn to read for the first time. Being rather small it easily fit inside my jacket pocket. It was a little after the beginning of the hike that I pulled it out and began to read the haiku starting in the section of Basho's poems.

I would read a haiku and then think about it as I walked along the path. I can only describe it as being a wonderfully therapeutic process for the mind and spirit, and for the body too (from the walking itself).

I thoroughly enjoyed Hamill's renderings of the haiku from the three recognized Japanese haiku masters and I also liked the poems from other somewhat lesser known Japanese poets.

I recommend this for reading anywhere if you enjoy the haiku poetic artform -- but I especially recommend it to read on a walk in the woods.

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A Good Start...
Review: The Shambhala Centaur editions are essentially introductions to mostly Asian genres, authors, and philosophies. The Sound of Water focuses on Zen haiku, as written by Basho, Issa, Buson, and a dozen or so other Japanese writers. It's an appealing little book - small enough to fit in a jacket pocket - with charming illustrations. Sam Hamill's translations, many of which have appeared in other books, are superlative. The Sound of Water would make a nice gift for a novice, but for those who are seriously interested in haiku or Zen, there are better choices.

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The Sound of Enlightenment in Few Words
Review: Oh, such a delightful book! The title is taken from one
of my favourites by Basho beautifully and interestingly
translated as:

At the ancient pond
a frog plunges into
the sound of water

The book has over two hundred treasures. Buy copies
for your friends and don't forget one for yourself!

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Wonderful!!!
Review: I've been a fan of Basho and the others since I was in college. They have such a wonderful way of capturing the subtlties of nature in their poems and the haikus in this little book are no exception. It amazes me how with so few words so much activitiy and imagery can be conveyed. The Great Mystery is captured through these haiku. The book is small, about 4"x4" which is a nice size to take on a walk.

Here are a couple to sample:

At a roadside shrine,
before the stony buddha
a firefly burns

The clouds come and go,
providing a rest for all
the moon viewers

Anyway, I'm really happy with this set of Haiku. Highly recommended!!

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