Pocket Haiku

<b>Quintessential classical Japanese haiku--selected and translated by one of America's premier poet-translators--now available in a pocket edition.</b> <p/>In this collection of haiku translator Sam Hamill has compiled the best from the tradition spanning the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries with 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. <p/>Haiku may be the most popular and widely recognizable poetic form in the world. In just three lines a great haiku presents a crystalline moment of image emotion and awareness. Elements of compassion silence and a sense of temporality often combine to reveal a quality of mystery. Just as often haiku may bring a startling insight into the ordinary or a flash of humor. Collected here are over two hundred of the best haiku of Japanese literature--written by the great masters of the genre. <p/>The featured poets are Bashō Buson Issa Moritake Sōin Sanpū Kikaku Ransetsu Kyorai Raizan Kakei Onitsura Taigi Chiyo Sogetsuni Sogi Fuhaku Teiga Kikusha-ni Tayo-jo Sōchō Shōha and Shiki. <p/> This is a pocket-size reissue of The Sound of Water (Shambhala 1995).