Dumpling Field: Haiku Of Issa (Paperback)

~ LUCIEN STRYK (Author), Noboru Fujiwara (Contributor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827), long considered among Japan's four greatest haiku poets (along with Basho, Buson and Shiki) is probably the best loved. This collection of more than 360 haiku, arranged seasonally and many rendered into English for the first time, attempts to reveal the full range of the poet's extraordinary life as if it were concentrated within a year. Issa's haiku are traditionally structured, of 17 syllables in the original, tonally unified and highly suggestive, yet they differ from those of fellow haikuists.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 133 pages
• Publisher: Swallow Press; 1 edition (November 30, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804009538
• ISBN-13: 978-0804009539
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,031,966 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not my favourite translations of Issa, October 8, 2000

By	Paul Wigelius (Stockholm, Sweden) - See all my reviews

I am a great admirer of Issa's and I had great expectations when I bought "The Dumpling Field". However, I found I was quite disappointed with the translations. As far as I can judge they have great academical merits, but I find them slightly dull. The translations are very matter of fact and I miss the esprit I have come to associate with Issa. The good thing about the translations is that they are kept abstract and as short as possible, and probably they are very close to the Japanese original in content, but they lack some of the tenderness and poetry I have seen in other translations, both Swedish and English.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars i appreciate so much Issa's mind., May 7, 1999

By A Customer

It shows much about Issa's sufferings, his resilience, his humility and his playfulness which are very inspiring. Issa, indeed is a great Japanese Haiku poet.