The Penguin Book of Haiku

Description

First Penguin volume
Of best Japanese haiku
Vivid translations
 
Now a global poetry, the haiku was originally a Japanese verse form that flourished from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. Although renowned for its minimalism and brevity, usually running three lines in seventeen syllables, and by its use of natural imagery to make Zen-like observations about reality, in fact the haiku is much more: it can be erotic, funny, crude and mischievous. Presenting over a thousand exemplars in vivid and engaging translations by Adam L. Kern, this anthology offers an illuminating introduction to this widely celebrated, if misunderstood, art form.“After word of this book gets out, the English-language practice and study of haiku will never be the same.” —Jay Rubin, GQ

“Adam L. Kern’s authoritative new anthology challenges the myth of haiku as a monkish meditation on the natural world . . . What we get is a cultural history of Japan up to the end of the 19th century condensed into verse . . . This feast-like anthology reminds us that poets excelled at social media long before the ‘floating world’ of the internet.” —Jeremy Noel-Tod, The Times (London)
 
“This collection will appeal to the general reader as well as the academic. Kern’s impressive research and copious annotations will give the scholar plenty to digest, but the lay reader can equally delight in a collection that truly revolutionizes the schoolbook image of haiku . . . With this new collection, haiku stands poised and ready for its reintroduction to the world of literature.” —Japan Times
Adam L. Kern (editor, translator) studied Japanese literature at Harvard University, where he earned his PhD in East Asian Languages and Civilizations before joining the faculty for nearly a decade. In Japan, he has been affiliated with the University of Kyoto, the University of Tokyo and the National Institute of Japanese Literature. Kern teaches Japanese literature and visual culture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.GB

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