Haiku: An Anthology of Japanese Poems »

Akira Y. Yamamoto, professor of anthropology and linguistics at the University of Kansas, taught anthropology and linguistics courses. He also works with endangered language communities in the Midwest and Southwest to document and revitalize their languages. He has been active in bringing together the language communities and professional communities for an effective and long-lasting language and culture revitalization program.

This celebration of what is perhaps the most influential of all poetic forms takes haiku back to its Japanese roots, beginning with poems by the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century masters Basho, Busson, and Issa, and going all the way up to the late twentieth century to provide a survey of haiku through the centuries, in all its minimalist glory. The translators have balanced faithfulness to the Japanese with an appreciation of the unique spirit of each poem to create English versions that evoke the joy and wonder of the originals with the same astonishing economy of language. An introduction by the translators and short biographies of the poets are included. Reproductions of woodblock prints and paintings accompany the poems.