Customer Reviews

The Sound of Water: Haiku by Basho, Buson, Issa, and Other Poets (Shambhala Centaur Editions)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been a fan of Basho and the others since I was in college. They have such a wonderful way of capturing the subtlties of nature in their poems and the haikus in this little book are no exception. It amazes me how with so few words so much activitiy and imagery can be conveyed. The Great Mystery is captured through these haiku. The book is small, about 4"x4" which is a nice size to take on a walk.

Here are a couple to sample:

At a roadside shrine,
before the stony buddha
a firefly burns

The clouds come and go,
providing a rest for all
the moon viewers

Anyway, I'm really happy with this set of Haiku. Highly recommended!!

Oh, such a delightful book! The title is taken from one
of my favourites by Basho beautifully and interestingly
translated as:

At the ancient pond
a frog plunges into
the sound of water

The book has over two hundred treasures. Buy copies
for your friends and don't forget one for yourself!

I brought this small book of haiku along with me on a nature walk last autumn to read for the first time. Being rather small, it easily fit inside my jacket pocket. It was a little after the beginning of the hike that I pulled it out and began to read the haiku starting in the section of Basho's poems.

I would read a haiku and then think about it as I walked along the path. I can only describe it as being a wonderfully therapeutic process for the mind and spirit, and for the body too (from the walking itself).

I thoroughly enjoyed Hamill's renderings of the haiku from the three recognized Japanese haiku masters and I also liked the poems from other somewhat lesser known Japanese poets.

I recommend this for reading anywhere if you enjoy the haiku poetic artform -- but I especially recommend it to read on a walk in the woods.

It's little; it's beautiful; it can fit in a pocket; it explains the form; and the translations are lovely.

I've been bringing it to work. I didn't today. And I'm already missing it.

If you love haiku, get this book. If you don't know yet but want to, start with this book. My bet is you'll know before you're finished reading, if you've gone this far.

Sam Hamill (ed.), The Sound of Water: Haiku by Basho, Buson, Issa, and Other Poets (Shambhala, 1995)

Very small, very concentrated book. One hundred twenty-five pages, most with two haiku per page (some pages are simple illustrations from the period). I was unfortunately too much of an idiot to keep this with me until I wrote the review so I could quote some of the world's finest haiku at you, so all I can say is trust me on this one: there's a reason these guys are known as the masters of haiku and senryu. It's also a surprising look at the earthiness of the form; too many anthologies of classic haiku seem like revisionist histories, quoting the stuff the translator or editor thinks is noble and leaving out the poems about drunkenness or taking a leak or lechery or what have you. Hamill, thankfully, has no filters (in fact, in his intro, he singles out one of Issa's faecal pieces to point out this very thing). As with a lot of books along these lines, my only problem with it is that it's far too short; it's possible to polish this off in an hour, if you don't savor each piece. Even then, it'll probably take you an afternoon. I spent a couple of weeks on it, thinking and reflecting; given a book five time this size, I would have been more than happy to sit with it for a few months. ****

This is a delightful little book for any haiku lover - small enough to carry in pocket or purse for a bit of meditation anywhere. Occasional sumi ink illustrations, nice little intro to Basho, Issa and the art of haiku.

This book gives examples of haiku by various poets. There is some interesting art included and some useful information.

I keep ordering this small book again and again to give as a gift. Both the poetry and the presentation are exquisite. I love the book's compact size, which seems suggestive of the condensed beauty of the haiku it holds inside. I also love the artwork on the cover. Someone with a lot of sensitivity designed this book. The selection of poetry is equally compelling.

I purchased this to carry with me on a trip to Japan. Read it from the porch of a hut on a temple grounds where Basho had stayed. Buson restored the hut and choose the temple grounds as his final resting place. The poems are nicely translated in this small, portable book.

Mi idioma es el español, pero puedo
leer este valioso librito en Ingles.
Basho, Buson, Issa, y otros writers
of Haiku son joyas que permanecen
en la mente. Altamente les recomiendo
tener esta miniatura de libro.
Martha