Overview
A collection of classical Japanese haiku selected and translated by one of America's premier poet-translators.
Haiku may be the most popular and widely recognized poetic form in the world. In just three lines, a great haiku presents a crystalline moment of image, emotion, and awareness. In this collection of haiku, translator Sam Hamill has compiled the best of traditional Japanese poetry, with a particular focus on the three great masters: Bashō, Buson, and Issa. Based on images from nature, the poems address the themes of joy, temporality, beauty, wonder, loneliness, and loss.
Haiku may be the most popular and widely recognized poetic form in the world. In just three lines, a great haiku presents a crystalline moment of image, emotion, and awareness. In this collection of haiku, translator Sam Hamill has compiled the best of traditional Japanese poetry, with a particular focus on the three great masters: Bashō, Buson, and Issa. Based on images from nature, the poems address the themes of joy, temporality, beauty, wonder, loneliness, and loss.
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