The Classic Tradition of Haiku: An Anthology

Good read !!!

Great lil book if you're new to haiku, many artists covered n enough Japanese inside info covered For the price, it's a steal Docking one star coz I'd have liked more info on some concepts, n if it had word meanings too, that wd hv been js outstanding

Very good quality

This collection of Haiku poems from the masters of Haiku comes with short summaries and snippets about the poets and the situations on which these haikus were composed. Leaves one completely satisfied by the time one flips the last page.

i am surprised this happens again. Now with a new seller. I was charged Rs 715 and the price on the rear of the book says $ 3.00 USA. Terrible quality of paper too.

Fake product.Poor paper quality and different cover from what is shown.

I was hoping that I will find something by Ishikawa Takuboku, but I'll look for another book. Thank you!

This not only a great selection of Haikus but it comes packed with notes and references that make it into a very enjoyable and immersive experience. Cannot recommend enough.

Anche questa raccolta, seppur in inglese, vale la pena di essere letta. Si trovano i testi originali a fronte. Gli haiku non deludono mai!

I am an avid collector/reader of Haiku. I love the apparent simplicity yet deep and complex meaning. Here is why this is a phenomenal bargain: The book includes many Haiku from traditional Japanese masters. There are several translations by various scholars. So even under one Haiku, you might read 4 or 5 interpretations, each credited to the appropriate translator. For example, there are 5 different translations for the famous frog Haiku by Basho, some seemingly better than others. One translation is a bit longer in the English, but more appropriately captures the spirit of the Japanese. Not being able to understand the minor details about a Kanji symbol keeps many Westerners from understanding the true nature of Haiku (how some people say - my name is <name here> and is written in Kanji with the symbols for moon and light). Some Haiku is more straightforward and written in Hiragana, so the translations can be more spot on. But still, Japanese is a language that has a lot of meaning for very simple and short sounds. So having various translations for some of the Haiku really does help one gain a better understanding of the poem. The best part about this book (other than the stupidly low price) is that there are Romaji translations for the Haiku. Bravo! For those who don't know what Romaji is, Romaji is the phonetic English translation of the Japanese characters. Since most of us can't read Japanese any easier than we can read Cyrillic. This way you can read the poems in the traditional Japanese by sounding them out. It makes much more sense often to read the Romaji THEN reading the translations. Sometimes it is nearly impossible to translate a Japanese Haiku into English and retain the traditional 5-7-5 sound format. Also note that Japanese Haiku does not have to follow a 5-7-5 format or include a reference to nature or a season. That is the oldest and purest form of Haiku. You can read more about Haiku in one of two wonderful books which I highly, highly recommend: The Haiku Handbook -25th Anniversary Edition: How to Write, Teach, and Appreciate Haiku The Japanese Haiku This is a good addition to any collection. There are only 78 pages, but there are about 200 Haiku in this book and several pages of notes and reference. There are also a good number of Haiku from Issa, Shiki, and Munefusa, who are some of my favorites (that are less popular than Basho and Buson). Particularly I enjoy Shiki, often considered the fourth great master (Buson, Basho, Issa are the others). It's worth every penny and then some. Dover is not known for fancy binding or quality paper, so don't expect pristine printing and durable spines. It's printed on thin recycled paper, but for $3 it's worth it. I highly recommend this as an addition for any Haiku lover's library.

Preciso dizer: eu amo demais os haikais, sou obcecado por eles desde que li pela primeira vez os do Leminski, louvado seja. Então minha paixão pelo haikai me levou a colecionar tudo o que consegui comprar em sebos, até montar uma coleçãozinha de respeito. Agora pesquei esse livrinho que se propõe a ser uma Antologia do Haiku. Nele você lerá um aperitivo de 48 grandes poetas japoneses, mas sem nenhuma informação sobre os autores a não ser as datas de nascimento/morte, um poema em japonês e a tradução para o inglês com muitas notas de rodapé. Pelo preço e pela dificuldade em encontrar livros bons sobre o tema, vale a compra. Para amantes do haikai.