Customer Reviews

A Zen Wave: Basho's Haiku and Zen

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A Zen Wave: Basho's Haiku and Zen

This book provides an excellent insight into the editing choices that must be made in translating poetry (in this case Zen haiku) from another language into English. I found the author's discussions and commentary to be compelling and answered many questions that had arisen in my mind concerning the interpretation of Japanese haiku. By providing the Japanese poem side-by-side with a literal word-by-word transcription into English, together with the author's translation of the poem into English, I was able to easily follow the author's rationale as to how best to express the essence of the poem.

This book is more, however, because it provides insights into Basho the man and Basho the poet, influences upon his life and the poems he wrote, and the context within which those poems were written. By way of further explanation and comparison, the author also provides haiku from other poets and alternative translations of the subject haiku by other translators.

Full disclosure: I came to this book with a strong interest in the haiku of Basho (as well as Issa, Buson, Chiyo-ni, et.al.) but very little knowledge of the Japanese language. Most of the books I've been able to find so far provide various translations but little commentary or translator's notes. A Zen Wave, however, provides much to think on--a well-considered English translation; the original in romanji; and a literal word-for-word translation. Comments on individual poems go into the particular challenges of rendering Japanese into understandable English (random example: "Most translators render naki as "weep," but this is incorrect. Its homonym means "weep," and so this carries through as an overtone, but the ideograph Basho used refers to the cry of any animal, with reference derived from context.")

The other aspect of the book is, of course, Zen. Aitken uncovers deeper meaning in Basho's haiku, informed by both Basho's understanding of Zen (he was "familiar with the ways of Zen monks to some degree") and Aitken's own (as a Zen roshi.) These essays take the reader to many delightful places, bringing all sorts of things along the way--poems by T.S. Eliot and Joyce Carol Oates; monk stories; Zen koans; slightly cranky rants (oh, the poor acolyte of the 60s-70s who wanted master Aitken to LOVE his students . . . ); and out-and-out didacticism. "Basho's purpose was not merely self-expression," Aitken tells us. "With his great compassionate heart, he was saying, 'Go thou and do likewise.'"

Again, I am no expert on haiku or Zen; merely a student. As such, I found this work both delightful and useful. I would not agree with a previous reviewer who found the book lacking in "depth" but I wouldn't mind if Aitken had tackled more poems. For that matter, I wouldn't mind if other contemporary translators of Japanese poetry would give us more material like this.

This is an extraordinary book on two counts: it is a penetrating commentary on Zen as lived by the poet Basho', and it is an exemplary translation of Basho''s poetry.

What makes A Zen Wave stand out? Translators of haiku, of which there have been many, have employed a variety of strategies in attempting to render the compact haiku form into English. In translating Basho', Aitken has adopted the only sensible strategy: he dispenses with the 5-7-5 syllable structure, for the simple reason that it doesn't work in English, and he resists any temptation to impose western poetic conventions. Instead, he focuses on capturing the Zen spirit of Basho'. It is here, in conveying the spirit of Basho''s haiku, that Aitken proves himself so adept.

For each poem, Aitken first gives his English translation, followed by a romanized version (ro'maji), and a literal, word-for-word transliteration of the Japanese. This allows the reader to appreciate both what the original poem looked like, and the liberties taken by the translator in `creating' an English version. This format discloses the translation process with uncommon honesty. It both allows and compels Aitken to explain and justify his translations. Here is an example: The Old Pond

(First Aitken's translation)
The old pond;
A frog jumps in--
The sound of water.

(Then the ro'maji)
Furu ike ya
kawazu tobikomu
mizu no oto

(Then the literal transliteration)
Old pond!
frog jumps in
water of sound

Then, in a section called "The Form," Aitken provides a detailed explanation of the pertinent grammatical features, such as the cutting word, "ya," and how the poem's structure creates its poetic effects. This section is then followed by the author's commentary: historical, poetical, and Zen-influenced. In his commentary, he provides critical evaluations of other translations, assessing their fidelity to the original, and provides a rationale for his own version. I personally found this commentary very helpful in appreciating Bash'o's haiku.

If you are interested in Bash'o, in haiku in general, in poetry, or in Zen, I think you'll find A Zen Wave an exceptional book.

As someone who greatly appreciates haiku, I was greatly disappointed by this book. I wanted a book with nothing but haiku. This book is mostly writing ABOUT haiku. It has precsious little haiku verses. And for the ones that were in the book, there were pages and pages of comment on it. If one wants to read a book about what people think of haiku and how they understand it, this book may be for you. But, if you are interested in having a book with the vast majority of what is actually in the book being haiku, this will be a disappointment to you. A few minutes after it was downloaded to my Kindle, I deleted it--a waste of $9.69.

This book is an early work by a respected and cherished Zen adept. For this reader it lacks depth and breadth but should appeal to a beginner.