A Long Rainy Season: Haiku and Tanka (Rock Spring Collection of Japanese Literature) [Paperback]

Leza Lowitz (Editor), Miyuki Aoyama (Editor), Akemi Tomioka (Editor), Robert Kushner (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1998 | ISBN-10: 1880656159 | ISBN-13: 978-1880656150

A thousand years ago women poets at the Japanese imperial court created a written aesthetic of unmatched elegance and technical skill. Today, Japanese women poets write with equal sophistication about romance, family life, and sexuality, and about divorce, loneliness, feminism, politics, and the West. In this landmark anthology of traditional short verse (the haiku and the slightly longer tanka) fifteen contemporary Japanese women poets reveal the changing society that is Japan today. Winner of the 1995 Benjamin Franklin Award.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a stunning treasury of fresh, beautiful poems written by Japanese women alive, amazing, and as various as stars." -June Jordan -- Review

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Japanese

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Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Stone Bridge Press (July 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880656159
• ISBN-13: 978-1880656150
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #425,961 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading for Japanese poetry, May 29, 2006

By 

M. Kei "~K~" (Chesapeake Bay, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Long Rainy Season: Haiku and Tanka (Rock Spring Collection of Japanese Literature) (Paperback)

If you've been finding haiku and tanka either stuffy, obscure, or dreary and are wondering why so many people seem to like it, this book will set the matter straight. Contained within its pages are dozens of truly excellent poems that engage the reader with surprising, eloquent, original, and evocative images and sensations. Covering far more than the usual range of expression, they touch on everything from being interrogation by the police to motherhood. Usually 'women's literature' tends to focus on the author's narrow view of what women 'ought' to be; this book presents a broad range of women experiencing all manner of things with all sorts of attitudes.

Unfortunately, the book shares one fault with many others of its kind: The notes are insufficient. Yes, each poem should and does stand on its own, but not all of them make them make it across the cultural divide as well as others. For example, Nakamura's 'land-locked bride / tempted offshore -- / the open sea' can be read as the straightforward longing of a woman for a broader horizon, but if the reader also knows that Japanese women often commit suicide by wading into the sea and drowning, then it acquires an intensity that lifts it from the realm of the good to the excellent.

The other thing that disappointed me is that the Japanese originals were not included in the book. For those of us that can read a little Japanese, being able to decipher even a few of the poems in their original form is a great gift. Even those who can't can still look at the shape of the poem on the page and note patterns of sound and syllable that helps to convey some idea of the original.

Nonetheless, the poetry works and works well. It is a breathtakingly beautiful work, and compares favorably to that hoary old classic, Ueda's Modern Japanese Tanka. If you're wanting to introduce somebody to modern Japanese poetry, I'd give them this book over Ueda's book any day - male readers included.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Haiku And Tanka With A Strong Feminine Voice!, May 31, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Kentucky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Long Rainy Season: Haiku and Tanka (Rock Spring Collection of Japanese Literature) (Paperback)

"A Long Rainy Season" is a refreshing collection of contemporary haiku and tanka written by Japanese women. The poems within speak of loneliness, and breasts, politics and menstruation. It is inspiring to see the haiku eye expressed from women's points of view. There is nothing dry or dull in this volume, and the content is as varied as the women who wrote the poems. I would recommend this to anyone who loves these poetic forms, especially those who just can't see past Basho and his poetic brothers .

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Long Enough!, February 1, 2002

By 

Hortensia Anderson "Hortensia Anderson" (nyc, ny, usa) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Long Rainy Season: Haiku and Tanka (Rock Spring Collection of Japanese Literature) (Paperback)

The beautiful unfolding of a tradition that simply has not existed in English until now. Here, we are given an anthology of haiku and tanka by contemporary women poets tackling modern topics - feminism, sexuality, politics - with an elegant aesthetic. Hopefully, this long, rainy, fertile season will
continue with much more from these talented translators of hidden treasures.