Customer Reviews

From the Country of Eight Islands: An Anthology of Japanese Poetry

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With over 600 pages of a monumental anthology of Japanese poetry, translated and edited by two giants in the field - Hiroaki Sato and Burton Watson, along with an introduction by Thomas Rimer, this is a volume that should occupy a central position on the bookshelf of serious scholars of Japanese poetry. It also contains ample notes as well as a
bibliography.
The difference in styles provides an interesting and insightful study (Sato with his prose-lines - Watson with his verse-lines) which should have both readers and writers alike contemplating such an incredible collection, rich in depth and breadth.
Recommended!

If I could only have one book of poetry, this would be it. Stranded on a desert island? Hope to have this anthology with you. The poetry seems to have lost nothing in the translation and the presence of the translators is unfelt. The range is extraordinary (from 400 CE to present day) and all of the poetry is accessible -- with some of it being, quite literally, breath-taking (for me, anyway). There is a delight or a revelation to be found on almost every one of its 652 pages. I have given this anthology to several friends (from a Buddhist monk to a College lecturer in poetry) and each one has been delighted. It is not inexpensive; however, it has a value far beyond its price.

An excellent selection of Japanese poetry through the ages, with translations by two excellent translators. (Whatever Amazon thinks, Hiroaki Sato is a well-known translator.)

If you write, read, or care in any way about poetry, this book should be by your bedside or at your work table. I gave mine away, but I intend to replace it.