Customer Reviews

One Hundred More Poems from the Japanese (New Directions Books)

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Kenneth Rexroth's Japanese poem selections caused a great commotion within myself. Never had such words stir so much emotions within me. As a result, I am able to relate to better with my girlfriend. These selections caught the true essense of love and lost of love.

Marichiko's, a writer of various poems displayed, poems piqued my interest. Her poems were... are indeed intense in nature. I am desire so much to possess her complete works.

Rexroth's brilliant translations, though at times very liberal, do much better at expressing the real meat of each poem than do more traditional, academic translations steeped in dated language. His other translated collections of Japanese, Chinese, French, Spanish, and Greek poetry are equally beautiful. It should be noted, though, that "Marichiko" was in fact a pen name. In his later years, "Marichiko" was an experiment on Rexroth's part to write completely separated from himself as a central figure, switching culture, gender, and language - and then writing poetry from that new perspective. It wasn't until after his death that it even became clear the two were in fact the same person.

Rexroth must be praised for two reasons. One: his translations are razor sharp (in the Japanese style), yet retain all the profundity and the humanity of the poem. And two: the selections are excellent. For all poetry lovers, and indeed for all poetry non-lovers, this is THE collection. You can't go wrong with Rexroth.

I have always loved the simple, yet profound Japanese approach to poetry. The words stir the heart and soul. I have read the first volume in this two-set series of Japanese poetry, and I found this one as moving as the first volume. The author has each poem written in Enlish, Japanese and in Kanji characters. Kenneth Rexroth has did a fantastic job of translating the poetry from Japanese to English. In conclusion, if you love Japanese poetry, such as Haiku, you will want to read this volume. Rating: 5 stars. Joseph J. Truncale(Season of the Warrior: A Poetic Tribute to Warriors)