Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Product Description
Synopsis
An anthology of this Japanese form of poetry which features seventeen syllables, usually in three lines.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
80 of 80 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Japanese haiku has a long history. Its 17 syllables appearance may be deceptive for there is a rich tradition of literary allusions behind every poem. This book is incredibly inexpensive and worth much more than its price. The editor has found space for a great number of haiku, including a phonetic transcription of the original, and some brief, pertinent information about some of them.
The choice is well-considered and informative. It begins already with linked verse from the 15th century and ends with the last of the great masters, Shiki, who died one hundred years ago.
The choice is well-considered and informative. It begins already with linked verse from the 15th century and ends with the last of the great masters, Shiki, who died one hundred years ago.
Bowers has also chosen to present very different styles of translation, occasionally more than one of the same original. Often you would not recognize them as attempts to render the same poem. There are divergent opinions on how to render haiku into English (or any other Western language) and here the interested reader will find ample material for a well-informed opinion.
This thin and unpretentious book offers great value, both in the presentation of the history of haiku and in the examples of widely divergent styles of rendering it in English. Anybody interested in Japanese haiku could profit from Bowers' anthology and the price makes no strain on the purse.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Many bibliophiles will love the Dover Thrift books for their beautiful (if slightly Kitsch) covers and layout. Often, however, their foreign language books suffer from overly-mannered or archaic translations. This one, however, is an exception. Not only do they offer a phoenetic version of the original, but in some cases they offer several translations. And generally speaking these Haiku translations are very good and convey both the melancholy and the humour that is evident in these miniature masterpieces.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is an excellent anthology sampling the work of numerous poets & covering a wide historical range. It also effectively demonstrates the difference in interpretation which can be produced in translation.
Excellent value for money.
Excellent value for money.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Excellent book
This was one of several haiku books I've read over the years and have to say one of the best. Issa, Basho and the rest all covered well plus some more obscure poets. Read more
Published 1 month ago by D. Lewis
Bargain
Brilliant book, and what a price, lovely cover too. The footnotes to the poems are truly enlightening, they add so much to the overall enjoyment. You would be a fool to miss this.
Published 16 months ago by K. L. Smith
Absolutely satisfied with this item
Not much to say except that this is a fantastic compilation of haiku, with some notes acting as an introduction to the tradition of Japanese poetry as well as alternative... Read more
Published 18 months ago by aristotelean beatboxer
Delightful Haiku, I think!
I am no expert on Haiku but I think this is a lovely little book. There is a lot of information, beautiful words and history succinctly put in the 78 pages. Read more
Published on 17 Nov 2009 by Motte 1
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
