Highlights of Poetry. Index of poetry. How to Write Poetry. Books read. | ||
Yuki Teikei Haiku Society:
Join.
GEPPO magazine.
Annual anthologies.
The Yuki Teikei Haiku Society Retreat at Asilomar: 2007. 2008 (a haibun). 2010. | ||
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Toward an Aesthetic for English-Language Haiku by Lee Gurga.
2004 Pescadero Haiku Weekend Workshop (including exercises) with Christopher Herold. | ||
How to write specific forms:
Haibun. Haiku. Hay(na)ku. Rengay. Renku. Tanka. Ballade. Concrete. Ghazal. Lai. Pantoum. Prose poem. Rondeau. Rubáiyát. Sestina. Skaldic verse. Sonnet. Terza rima. Triolet. Tritina. Villanelle. | ||
Poets:
Bashō.
Beverly Acuff Momoi.
Buson.
Claire Gallagher.
Hosai Ozaki.
J. Zimmerman. J. Zimmerman (haibun). J. Zimmerman (haiku). J. Zimmerman (tanka). Jane Hirshfield. Kay Ryan. Kay Ryan's style. Kay Ryan The Best Of It: New and Selected Poems. Ki no Tsurayuki. Marianna Monaco. Ouzel (James Arnold). Patricia Donegan. Patricia J. Machmiller. Renée Owen. Shiki. | ||
Check How to Learn Japanese. |
Matsuo Bashō
Oseko's translations
Oseko's annotated translations.
Comparison of Oseko and Reichhold translations.
Other info on Matsuo Bashō: Haiku. Haibun. Renga. Time Line.
Toshiharu Oseko has published two remarkable volumes of Basho's Haiku: Literal Translations for Those Who Wish To Read the Original Japanese Text, with Grammatical Analysis and Explanatory Notes.
The first volume appeared in 1990 and the second in 1996, published in Tokyo: Maruzen. The first (1990) volume of Oseko's translations is available in the West. The second can be seen in some university libraries.
The pair together are one of the best books read in 2016.
Main features of the Oseko:
My only criticism of Oseko's translations is that they contain considerably more punctuation than a native English speaker would use.
Jane Reichhold published her volume of Basho: The Complete Haiku.
Main features of the Reichhold:
Because of the richness of Oseko's annotations and the generosity of his translations, I recommend him strongly over Reichhold for someone wanting to study all of Bashō's haiku in a deep context of Japanese culture.
Unfortunately Oseko's first (1990) volume is rare and expensive in the West. The second can be even harder to find. Both can be seen in some university libraries.
Jane Reichhold's Basho: The Complete Haiku (2008) is widely available and a fairly good second best to Oseko. She augments her translation with an introduction, biography, and notes. She lists the poems sequentially in seven chapters totaling 214 pages:
After the translations are:
In parallel with reading Oseko, I checked every one of Reichhold's corresponding translations. Sometimes Reichhold's are better poetry. But sometimes she takes liberties that seem to limit or redirect the meaning.
Oseko, a modern native Japanese, probably takes the reader closer to what Bashō intended.
While Oseko is my preference, if you cannot get hold of the Oseko volumes, the
Reichhold can serve.
If you are looking for most poetic translations of Bashō, you probably want the (limited number of) translations by a third translator — Barnhill. |
This is a random but exemplary sample:
Oseko (Vol 2, No.457) (Basho's poem of 1691) | Reichhold (No. 706) | |
Haiku: |
The scent of ume,
Reminds me of a girl reading The year's first story book! |
the scent of plums
a series of storybooks for children |
Notes: |
Shirara,
Ochikubo, and Kyoutarou are the names of soushi [storybooks]
mentioned in ...
Lady Joururi Monogatari.
There is a passage in the chapter of Sugatami:
"Which did she read, Kokin, Manyou, Ise-Monogatari, Shirara, Ochikubo or Kyoutarou?"
This haiku depicts the scene of a beautiful girl like Lady Joururi reading the year's first soushi [storybook] near the ume blossoms. | The three last words of the poem, shirara, ochikubo, and kyoutarou, are titles of children's books. |
Many other comparisons of the translators' notes show Oseko giving marvelous context and Reichhold being helpful but limited.
Haiku set | Oseko | Reichhold |
401 to 410 | 2 | 2 |
501 to 510 | 5 | 1 |
601 to 610 | 3 | 3 |
701 to 710 | 1 | 0 |
801 to 810 | 4 | 2 |
901 to 910 | 1 | 0 |
Convenience sample total | 16 | 8 |
Related pages:
Poetry index.
How to Write Poetry.
How to write specific forms: Haibun. Haiku. Hay(na)ku. Rengay. Tanka. |
Books of Poetry Form. |
Copyright
© 2016-2016 by J. Zimmerman, except for the quoted poems.
All rights reserved. |
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